On the recordOctober 21, 2015
I thank the ranking member. Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose H.R. 692, for we should pay our debts. This bill is called the Pay China First Act. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to speak on H.R. 692, the so-called 'Default Prevention Act of 2015,'' which would result in the Congress refusing to pay the financial obligations it has already incurred. This bill, which ought to be called the ``Pay China First Act,'' is virtually-identical to the one House Republicans brought to the floor in May 2013, which House Democrats unanimously opposed and which wasted time and taxpayer money on its consideration before pushing the nation to the brink of default just a few months later. American families do not get to choose which bills to pay and which ones to ignore; neither can the United States Congress without putting the nation into default for the first time in its history. In 1789, Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first and greatest Treasury Secretary, understood that the path to American prosperity and greatness lay in its creditworthiness which provided the affordable access to capital needed to fund internal improvements and economic growth.…
