On the recordMay 16, 2023
Mr. President, last week, President Biden met with top congressional leaders to talk about the debt ceiling. This meeting came 4 months after the United States hit the debt limit and just a few weeks before a potential default. Considering the high stakes in this looming debt crisis, it is remarkable that it took this long for the President to sit down with the four leaders and to talk about how to solve this problem together. A debt default, of course, would set off an unprecedented economic crisis and inflict real pain on families all across the country. We all know our economy is just trying to get back on its feet after COVID. Our banking system has endured three high-profile collapses, and inflation continues to wreak havoc on family budgets. If the United States defaults on its debt, those challenges will only intensify. And that is an understatement. Social Security and Medicare benefits could be delayed. Members of the military and Border Patrol would be left without a paycheck. We would see our economy reeling--skyrocketing mortgage rates, sinking stock prices, and instability across our economy. Given the already fragile state of the economy, default is the very last thing we need. Fortunately, that is a point of agreement between the parties. I haven't heard anybody say it would be a good idea for us to default. But the $31.7 trillion question is, What does the path forward look like? As the American people know, the Republican position is not shrouded in mystery.…





