Issues of the Day

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, in just a few months, the United States is on track to default on its debt for the first time in history. This is because Speaker McCarthy has unveiled a bill that he claims will fulfill our debt obligations, but in reality it will cut access to critical social programs supporting education, food assistance, healthcare, and housing. It would devastate our economy, and we all know it is a dead-on-arrival bill. It will crash our global financial markets.

According to Moody's, under McCarthy's legislation, 780,000 Americans will lose their jobs, and our Nation's unemployment rate will surge. We all know that this pain will be borne disproportionately by people of color.

Republicans must put an end to this needless political theater and raise the debt limit, as they did three times with no problem under the twice-impeached and newly indicted former President Donald Trump, who signed $4.7 trillion in new deficits into law. Not only that, but they must do so without any cuts or reductions to housing funds given the terrible state of affordability in America.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues who care about our economy--or who say they care about our economy--and the American Dream to get serious and work with Democrats to avert a catastrophic default by supporting a clean bill to raise the debt limit.

Mr. Speaker, this should not be about politics. This should be about whether or not you love this country and whether or not you believe that we should pay our bills, whether or not you think it would be horrible if this government is to shut down.

If we don't pay our bills and the government shuts down, employees will not be able to put food on their tables. They will not be able to pay their mortgage or their rent. They will not be able to support their children in the ways that they should be supported. This is serious business.

Now, this business of Mr. McCarthy trying to negotiate with the President of the United States to say: Well, if you do what I want you to do, then I will support debt limits.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot do what the majority wants us to do because, first of all, they don't know what they are doing. They are putting this country at great risk.

What you are saying is you don't care about the debt. You don't care about the fact that there are people waiting to be paid that we owe.

You don't care whether or not there is a government shutdown. You don't care whether or not these jobs are lost.

I am saying to you: We will not support that kind of so-called negotiation. We will not support your putting this country at risk in the way that you are doing.

You need to come to grips with the fact that we have to raise the debt limit, and it has been done historically when it has needed to be done, and we expect you to do it.

I leave this moment by saying to you: We are waiting on you, Mr. McCarthy, to do the responsible thing, get with our President, and let's support our country.

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