Debt Ceiling

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McCLELLAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my House Republican colleagues to end their debt ceiling brinksmanship and prioritize the needs of the American people over their party's interests.

An unprecedented debt default would jeopardize health benefits for over 315,000 people in my district who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health insurance and raise the cost for all Americans by raising interest rates on every loan they have.

Unfortunately, the Republican solution is no solution at all, as their default on America act would devastate American families, seniors, and, especially, our veterans.

This bill would immediately rescind $2 billion in funding to support veterans, which would mean 30 million fewer outpatient visits and 81,000 jobs lost across the Veterans Health Administration. This would exacerbate backlogs and wait times for important medical appointments, particularly at facilities like the Richmond VA Medical Center in my district.

Our brave veterans deserve better. These are not viable options.

I call on House Republicans to stop holding the American economy hostage and raise the debt ceiling cleanly, just as we did three times under the former President.

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