[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1144-H1145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ADDRESS DEBT CEILING LIMIT NOW

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the House is on the verge of 
leaving town before addressing the problem of our debt limit. Instead 
of working to raise the debt limit and protecting the full faith and 
credit of the United States, the Republican majority has spent the past 
few months in a game of brinkmanship with the White House.
  For awhile it was: Give us what we want or we will close down the 
Government. Now it is: Give us what we want or we will default on our 
debt.
  I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to resist this 
approach. It will reduce the public opinion of Congress even further, 
and it has real and adverse consequences.
  The main point of raising the debt ceiling is to pay our current 
obligations, to pay those Treasury billholders and to pay those U.S. 
savings bond purchasers. It is not about increasing our future 
spending.
  I have cosponsored a resolution to keep the House in session until it 
considers a clean bill on the debt ceiling, 

[[Page H1145]]
and I urge my colleagues to support it. I have also signed a resolution 
asking our Republican leaders to let a clean debt ceiling bill come to 
the floor.
  We must pass a clean debt ceiling bill to send a message to the world 
that we will keep our word and pay our bills. Do not default on 
America.

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