Congressional Black Caucus Addqresses Raising Debt Ceiling

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank my good friend and colleague from the great State of New York, Mr. Jeffries, and for your leadership in anchoring this hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, and to bring the American people into a very important conversation about what the House of Representatives should be doing as you talked about tonight, and that is, Mr. Speaker, raising the debt ceiling and averting another crisis.

We are here tonight to urge our colleagues on the other side to work with Democrats and the administration to pass a clean and swift debt ceiling expansion without delay.

The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Lew, emphasized in a letter to Congressional leadership last Friday that ``no Congress in our history has failed to meet that responsibility,'' and ``it would be a mistake to wait until the last possible minute to act.''

Why should we act, Mr. Speaker? Why should we delay in acting? This Congress, unfortunately, being known as the ``do-nothing'' Congress, has failed to pass more bills than other previous sessions of Congress at a time when the American public expect their elected officials to work together to get things done. Under the leadership of the majority, fewer than 60 bills that have been passed by Congress have ultimately become law in the last year.

Now we are here facing yet another self-imposed, self-inflicted crisis. As my colleagues, Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Payne, have said, this is nonsense. The American public is looking at Congress and saying, Do your job.

The Treasury Department has made clear that it will exhaust all extraordinary measures in meeting our country's final financial obligations by February 27. The House--this House--is only in session for 5 more days between now and then, Mr. Speaker. That is why we are here to urge our Republican colleagues to act to raise the debt ceiling now, to do it swiftly, to do it without putting our country's full faith and credit of the United States at risk.

As my colleagues have said, we have to raise the debt, and it is not for negotiation. Let us remember that the debt ceiling has been raised 45 times since President Ronald Reagan took office. It doesn't grow our deficit by a single dime. All it does is allow the Treasury to pay for what this Congress has already spent and the obligations previous Congresses have already made on behalf of the United States.

There has already been much talk about Speaker Boehner turning something that could be very simple into a hostage situation with sweeping concessions. I would hope that my Republican colleagues remember the damage that was caused the last time we debated increasing the debt ceiling. The fact that House Republicans are debating among themselves another demand to hold our full faith and credit of the United States hostage is outrageous.

As we stated before, Mr. Speaker, House Democrats agree with President Obama that the full faith and credit of the United States is nonnegotiable. I stand with House Democrats in support of a clean debt ceiling increase that ensures the full faith and credit of the United States of America and avoids having this Congress play political games and brinksmanship. We have said it before and we will say it again: we should be representing the people's best interest, not punishing them.

There are drastic implications to not passing this debt ceiling increase by February 27. I want to yield to my colleague, Mr. Jeffries, for us to be able to highlight some of these damaging consequences.

I know in my home State of Nevada, it would mean an average increase in mortgage rates, leaving the average home buyer to pay an additional $100 a month, costing families $36,000 over the lifetime of a typical 30-year mortgage. 85,267 Nevada residents took out a home mortgage or refinanced their existing mortgage in the past year. All of them would be subject to these increases in mortgage interest rates.

So this is just one example of one State and the families that would be impacted. This is the type of impact that would happen across our Nation. The consequences are real. It is time for our colleagues on the other side to stop playing games, increase the debt ceiling, and meet our obligations.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you. I appreciate my good friend for yielding.

The remarks by the former President, President Reagan, speak to the reality of the consequence of Congress failing to act and what that will mean to our economy, to average Americans, to businesses, to the global economy because of the role that the United States plays, and to the value of the dollar, and to somehow hold this process hostage because Members on the other side have still not come to terms that the election is over, the President won, and it is time for this Congress to work with him to move our country forward, not to use this as another means to extract more concessions or demands in order for you to do your job. You don't have to agree with President Obama on everything, but what you do have to do is your job on behalf of the American people that elected you.

While no one knows with certainty the full extent of the damage to the economy should the U.S. default on its debts--and we don't know because it has never happened because every other Congress, regardless of party, regardless of which party controls the White House or the administration on a given time, did its job to extend and raise the debt--what we do know is that the average American family will feel a significant negative impact.

We are not here to scare our constituents. Our constituents are going through enough every day trying to survive to make ends meet, to put food on the table, working hard for themselves and their families. But what we are here to do is to talk about what some of the potential impacts might be, so let me highlight that.

If you look for a moment at this chart, this graphic provides some explanation. What are the debt ceiling deniers missing?

Household wealth would increase by $1 trillion if we fail to raise the debt ceiling.

Retirement assets would drop by $800 billion at a time when people are trying to provide security for themselves and their future. A decision by this Congress to fail to raise the debt ceiling could result in $800 billion of retirement assets declining.

We have talked about an increase in interest rates for borrowers at a time when our housing market is beginning to recover from the prolonged recession. Why would this Congress fail to act and the consequence of that result in increased mortgage rates for homeowners and borrowers?

And a huge hit, a huge hit, for financial markets around the globe causing the Dow Jones and the S&P to plummet. Families' retirement savings and 401Ks would drop as the stock market plummets.

3.4 million veterans who could not receive disability payments; 10 million Americans not receiving Social Security checks on time in just the first week alone; delayed tax refunds for up to 110 million Americans; and drug reimbursements under Medicare stopping and doctors and hospitals not getting paid, all for what? So that our colleagues on the other side who don't like the results of an election can use the debt ceiling as another attempt to get more concessions and more demands for things and ideas that have already been rejected by the American public.

So, Mr. Speaker, we are here to say enough is enough already. Let's get to work. Let's make 2014 a year of action, not obstruction. It starts by increasing the debt ceiling, by meeting our obligations and not doing harm to an already fragile economy and to an American public that expects its Representatives to act in its best interest, not in more political grandstanding or gamesmanship.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HORSFORD. I thank my friend for yielding.

You bring up a very valid point.

Over the weekend, I was at the William Pearson Community Center in my district, which is a tax preparation site for the Las Vegas Urban League. It was packed. There was not a seat available because so many people were there, seeking assistance in order to file their annual tax returns, particularly this year. They were trying to get them done early so they could get the refunds that were coming to them so that they could then help meet an obligation that they have in their households. It has been tough for a lot of families.

So you make a very valid point as to the fact of the timing of this particular debt ceiling increase and the February 27 date and the obligations that the country has and this time period in particular. There are 110 million Americans who will be filing their tax returns, many of whom will be getting a refund, and I don't think they will take kindly to a delay in that refund if our colleagues on the other side use this debt ceiling legislation as an opportunity to load it up with conditions and requests that have nothing to do with the debt ceiling issue.

I would ask my colleagues on the other side to listen to their constituents, to be aware of their needs and to know your decision to fail to pass a clean debt ceiling could have very negative consequences on our economy.

We don't have to look very far. We can look back to 2011. The GOP brinksmanship during that time cost the economy the following:

It was the first time the U.S. credit was downgraded in U.S. history by failing to increase the debt ceiling on a timely basis. We ultimately got it done, but it was delayed. There was some concern in the markets of what would happen, and it resulted in the first U.S. credit downgrade in our history.

Are we going to allow that to happen again?

The stock market plummeted 17 percent. Consumer confidence dropped to its lowest point since the financial crisis of 2008. We saw businesses stop hiring in 2011 with one of the lowest months of job growth over the last 2 years during that period.

We have seen what the consequences of failing to pass a clean, swift debt ceiling would mean. Why would we even toy with the idea of failing to do it now, or to do it by adding conditions to it that basically hold the bill up as a hostage?

Finally, there was $1.3 billion added to our national debt for fiscal year 2011 and $19 billion over 10 years in higher government borrowing costs. If you are a fiscal hawk--if you are someone who is concerned like I am about our Federal deficit, if you want to have good fiscal discipline--then you might want to pass a clean, swift debt ceiling bill so that we don't have added costs to our national debt and so that we don't have additional borrowing expenses added to a debt and a deficit that under this administration in the last few years has been on the decline.

Let's do our job. Let's help the process. Let's move our country forward. Let's work together. Let's be a Congress that acts, not a Congress that continues to obstruct.

Source