[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DEBT CEILING PROPOSAL TIES PRESIDENT'S HANDS

  (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, last night Democrats were called to the 
Committee on Ways and Means to mark up debt ceiling legislation, but it 
immediately became clear we had been called to a holdup, not a markup.
  No responsible Member of Congress wants the Government to default, 
but the Republican debt ceiling proposal makes default more likely 
because it would tie the President's hands in managing the debt.
  Why are Republicans going to the brink to put heat on the President 
to accept their extremist agenda? In a word, to blackmail the 
Presidency. Republicans are playing with fire but the whole Nation 
could be burned. Adjustable mortgage rates would go up, then fixed 
mortgages, car loans, credit cards.
  Democrats never tried to tie the hands of a President like this. The 
Nation's full faith and credit is too important to be a political pawn 
for the extremist agenda of the Speaker.
  The Speaker is toying with the unspeakable. So let us say no to 
default. Say no to extremism. Say no to the Republican holdup.

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