Looming Debt Limit Crisis

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, right now, the United States economy is being held hostage by Speaker McCarthy and extreme MAGA Republicans, who have issued a series of radical demands. In their demands, they are saying that if they are not met, they will force the United States Government into bankruptcy for the first time in our Nation's history.

Madam Speaker, this fate is exactly 16 days away. The clock is ticking. Instead of taking action to avoid this fate, Republicans are doubling down on their threats.

While communities everywhere will suffer enormous harm, no community will bear the brunt of this looming economic catastrophe more than the Black community. A default on our Nation's debt will discontinue crucial programs like Medicare and Social Security.

In my district alone, a default will jeopardize Social Security payments for 59,000 families and threaten the retirement savings of 89,600 people near retirement. A default will dramatically increase borrowing costs for auto, home, and personal loans and hinder access to credit for Black communities, which are already paying more for credit because of predatory lending practices, which still exist today.

For example, a default would increase mortgage interest rates above 8 percent and increase monthly mortgage payments on a median home in California by $254, pushing the total cost of homeownership up by over $91,000. This would further decimate the American Dream of homeownership for far too many families.

While we have made considerable progress in strengthening Black employment under President Biden, a default would significantly reverse this progress by throwing 780,000 people out of jobs, including 7,200 jobs in my district alone.

As with most economic crises, Black Americans will not only bear the brunt of a recession but will also have the most difficult time recovering. We have seen this in the past.

Let's be very clear. The brinkmanship over our Nation's debt is not only a direct attack on our economy but also on Black communities everywhere. We are running out of time to save our economy and our most vulnerable communities from a crisis of epic proportions.

Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to put an end to this needless political theater and raise the debt limit, as they did three times with no problems under twice-impeached and indicted former President Donald Trump. Not only must they raise the debt limit, but in the midst of a worsening housing crisis, they must do so without cutting a single penny from critical housing funds.

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