Lloyd Bentsen: “That is about right, around 3 to 3.5 percent, 350 basis points. That is a substantial additional interest cost. What you…”

“That is about right, around 3 to 3.5 percent, 350 basis points. That is a substantial additional interest cost. What you in effect do is you turn interest into principal and you thus incur more debt. It costs you money in the long run. We would be raising the cost not only to the American taxpayers through the Federal Government, but we would also be raising the cost to State and local taxpayers, school districts. This is before people who have adjustable rate mortgages, which are coming due in the month of February and March, find out that exactly what that cap on their mortgage meant. If it was a 2-percent cap or a 3-percent cap, they are going to hit that cap. This is sort of the version, the financial version of mutually assured destruction. This will cause a payment crisis in the U.S. markets that will transcend through every household in this country. It will preclude the Treasury from making Social Security payments. It is totally unwarranted. It should not be done. The Speaker should bring this bill up, and the last thing, the last thing we ought to do in this situation is to adjourn and go home so some people can campaign or run for President.”