[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PASS A CLEAN DEBT CEILING NOW

  (Mrs. KENNELLY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, there was a large, 
black headline in the Washington Post. ``Default,'' it said--with an 
exclamation point. It was a frightening story, depicting the cascading 
effect of a U.S. Government default from worldwide currency markets to 
home mortgages.
  Fortunately, it was a story that has not yet come true. And more and 
more Members are now saying publicly that they do not think it will 
come true.
  But the question remains: If no one wants a default, and if everyone 
understands that the debt limit must be raised, and if a majority of 
the House and Senate are willing to take the tough but necessary vote 
to do so--why have we not done so yet?
  Lifting the debt limit should not be a matter of politics, but of 
governance. Ensuring that it is done should not be a question of 
partisan leverage, but of leadership.
  As the sponsor of critical legislation to pass a clean debt ceiling, 
I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill. I further urge them to 
sign the discharge petition that would bring this legislation to the 
floor. And above all, I urge: Pass a clean debt ceiling now.

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