Promoting Physical Activity for Americans Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 688, I call up the bill (S. 1301) to provide for the publication by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of physical activity recommendations for Americans, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Mr. NEAL. 1301.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, one of the essential duties of Congress is to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States. Today, we will once again take action to do precisely that.
A suspension of the debt ceiling will prevent us from defaulting on debt we already owe. This is not about new spending. It is about investments that this Congress has agreed to in the past and previously approved.
This is about what the American family does every day. They don't get to say: ``I am not going to make my credit card payment this month. I am not going to make my mortgage payment this month. Oh, maybe I won't make my car payment this month. And I won't honor the personal loan that I signed up for.''
Our vote today is not a novel exercise. Congress has addressed the debt limit 78 times since 1960 to prevent default, 29 times with a Democrat in the White House and 49 times with a Republican in the White House.
Ensuring that the government can finance its existing obligations is a responsibility that we share jointly in this Chamber. Regrettably, that apparently is not the case this time.
Our Democratic Caucus, with some hope and help, I believe, from the Republicans at the right moment, will meet the moment and prevent a devastating financial catastrophe. We will take the action necessary to protect businesses, workers, and families.
When Americans' jobs and retirement savings are on the line, we are going to make sure we do what is necessary to prevent disaster.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), Speaker of the House, for a firm rebuttal.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), a very capable member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), whose work on infrastructure is a model for the Nation.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, a champion of the underserved.
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation.
This is legislation that protects the full faith and credit of our Nation; that protects the well-being of millions of our most vulnerable citizens, including seniors receiving Social Security, veterans, servicemembers, small businesses, as well as physicians treating Medicare and Medicaid patients; and that protects our economic recovery and the global financial system.
The refusal of Republican leadership to extend the debt limit threatens catastrophic damage to America and Americans. Economists estimate that default could cost to United States' economy up to 6 million jobs; wipe out as much as $15 trillion in household wealth; cause the unemployment to surge to 9 percent; and send global financial markets into chaos.
Republicans must work and be real with Democrats to address the debt limit to ensure that hardworking Americans, businesses, and communities across the country do not pay the price.
Raising the debt limit is the only responsible thing to do.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), a very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, the Republican Party is, in fact, the party of debt and deficit. Ronald Reagan, a Republican, grew the deficit to $152 billion. Bush 1, a Republican, grew that deficit to $290 billion. President Clinton, a Democrat, wiped out the entirety of the deficit and gave $128 billion surplus to Bush 2, a Republican, who turned that $128 billion surplus into a $1.4 trillion deficit. Obama, a Democrat, cut the Bush deficit of $1.4 trillion to $600 billion, from which Trump, a Republican, grew that deficit to $1 trillion.
Over the past 60 years, Democrats have created 21 million more jobs than Republicans. Annual economic growth is almost double. The Democratic Party continues the clean up the mess that the Republicans have made. And the Republicans are running away from the mess that they are responsible for.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, chief architect of the child credit expansion.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), who is a very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), who is always the great champion of expanding the earned income tax credit.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who is always a champion of the industrial heartland.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle), who is a champion of very complicated issues relating to the debt ceiling.
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I will attempt to address two things: the present and the future.
First, on the present, there is no question, none--and let's not let the other side get away with this conflating of two different things-- this is not about adding new debt. It is about whether or not we are going to pay the bills for the old debt that was already rung up under all of the previous administrations combined, including, and especially, the last one.
That is what this is about.
Are we going to pay our bills?
Of course, the answer is yes. I have voted to raise the debt ceiling under a Democratic administration, and I have done it under a Republican administration because it is the responsible thing to do.
But the second thing is the future.
Why do we constantly keep finding ourselves in this rather bizarre, counterproductive debate that achieves nothing?
We always know the debt ceiling is ultimately going to be raised.
The question is: How much of a political game of chicken will we have to go through?
And that game of chicken comes at a real cost. The last time the United States came close to not raising the debt ceiling was exactly 10 years ago. The GAO found the cost at $1.3 billion, and, my God, just imagine if ever a miscalculation brought about an occasion in which by accident we truly didn't raise the debt ceiling.
When on the Ways and Means Committee I asked Secretary Mnuchin what would happen, he replied that the consequences would be so dire he couldn't even imagine them.
So let's fix this. I have a piece of legislation with Budget Committee Chairman Yarmuth that would take this out of the political sphere. It would depoliticize it. And instead, make this the responsibility of the Treasury Secretary--Democratic Treasury Secretary today, Republican Treasury Secretary tomorrow. That would be the responsible approach and end this game once and for all.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), who is a very capable gentleman. He is champion of all things Philadelphia, as well as quite knowledgeable about the debt ceiling.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and well-known for his midwestern values.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta) again, a very knowledgeable member of the Ways and Means Committee.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez), whose work on USMCA was outstanding.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the very capable Congresswoman.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. As a member of the Budget Committee, we sat for many hours on Saturday giving this Congress and the American people a budget. So I know that the discussions of my good friends are purely political, and the reason is this. In 2019, during the Trump administration, Majority Leader McConnell, the very person who stood up with such great profoundness and did not want to vote to raise the debt ceiling in order to adhere to the Constitution, as the leader, he voted to raise the debt ceiling, and he said: ``We will raise the debt ceiling because America can't default. That would be a disaster.''
Is there any poorer recollection?
Then for those of us who are historians or love 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. That is why we are known as the greatest economy in the world.
I would venture to say to my colleagues that the importance of what we do stands on the premise of the Constitution. We the people have formed to create a more perfect Union and for the general welfare of our people.
Vote to increase the ability to pay our bills and stand worthy in the world's eye.
I want Leader McConnell to remember his words. We need to do this on behalf of the American people.
Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in support of the rule governing debate for RCP 117-16, S. 1301, the ``Temporary Extension of Public Debt Act,'' which provides funding to extend the national debt limit through December 16, 2021 and avoids a wasteful, irresponsible, reckless threatening of one of the nation's singular indispensable assets: the full faith and credit of the United States.
Madam Speaker, 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.
Long ago, 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.
The nation's creditworthiness was one of its most important national assets and according to Hamilton: ``the proper funding of the present debt, will render it a national blessing.''
But to maintain this blessing, or to ``render public credit immortal,'' Hamilton understood that it was necessary that: ``the creation of debt should always be accompanied with the means of extinguishment.''
In other words, to retain and enjoy the prosperity that flows from good credit, it is necessary for a nation to pay its bills.
Madam Speaker, if our friends across the aisle really want to shrink the deficit, reduce the national debt, practice fiscal responsibility, and bring about sustained economic growth and prosperity, there is a much better, easier, and more certain way to achieve these goals than by tampering with the U.S. Constitution.
The easier and better way is for the American people to keep a Democrat in the White House and place Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
In the 1990s under the leadership of President Clinton the budget was balanced for four consecutive years, the national debt was paid down, the national debt, 23 million new jobs were created, and projected surpluses exceeded $5 trillion.
Under President Obama the financial crisis and economic meltdown inherited from his Republican predecessor was ended, the annual deficit was reduced by 67 percent, the auto industry was saved from collapse, and 15 million jobs were created.
In contrast, under every Republican administration since President Reagan the size of the deficit bequeathed to his successor was substantially larger than the one he inherited, a major economic recession occurred, and economic growth was lower than it was at the beginning of his administration.
According to Moody's Chief Economist Mark Zandi, it would be ``cataclysmic'' for the United States to default.
Republicans know the debt ceiling needs to be raised; in 2019 during the Trump Administration, Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling, ``We raised the debt ceiling because America can't default[,] that would be a disaster.''
Madam Speaker, this debate over extending the debt limit is not about restraining future spending, it is about paying the bills piled up already under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
To preserve the sanctity of the full faith and credit of the United States, protect American jobs and businesses of all sizes, and ensure the continued growth of the economy, I strongly support the provision in the bill before extending the public debt limit to December 16, 2021.
I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to join me in voting for S. 1301, the ``Temporary Extension of Public Debt Act.''
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader, one of the most capable legislators I have known.
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Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, we keep hearing from our colleagues that somehow we are asking them to cosign a loan. I am prepared here to vote to lift the debt ceiling. That is the responsible position.
We have heard a lot today from the other side about why Democrats should shoulder the responsibility of acting responsibly in terms of governance, but that is not how governing simply works.
We have been given great responsibility and privilege to serve this great country, and that responsibility means making hard decisions and putting the good of the Nation ahead of all else, including day-to-day politics.
So in my hand, Madam Speaker, I have a $1 bill. For anybody in this Chamber or who is watching or who has ever had a chance to travel this great country of ours, you know that wherever you go, you can redeem this dollar. The purchasing power of this dollar is well known to all.
But you know what is even more fascinating about this? No matter where you travel in the world, to any nook or cranny of this globe, you put the dollar on the table and they figure out how to redeem it. This argument today is about the full faith and credit of the United States of America. This is signed by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Treasurer of the United States of America. The basis of redemption is the trust that we might even have in strangers as it relates to the transaction of using this dollar to pay our bills.
We have always come together to pay our bills. In 2017, when the debt ceiling was reached, 183 Democrats, every Democrat present, voted to lift that limit, joining 133 Republicans.
Resist the ill-considered parts of the argument that have been offered today and vote for the responsible position to raise the debt ceiling based upon the full faith and credit of the dollar bill that we know is redeemed everywhere across the globe.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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