[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TEMPORARY DEBT LIMIT EXTENSION ACT, S. 540

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2014

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation, which suspends the current statutory limit on federal 
borrowing until March 15th, 2015. This crucial legislation effectively 
increases the debt limit by $1.2 trillion, ending the Republican 
manufactured crises, and includes $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction 
according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, without 
cutting Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. I want to commend House 
Republican leadership for bringing this legislation to the floor for a 
vote, which represents a dramatic shift since the disastrous debt 
ceiling brinkmanship we saw in the summer of 2011.
  The 2011 debt limit ``crisis'' was a political choice--a dangerous 
and irresponsible political stunt--manufactured by Tea Party 
Republicans in Congress to prevent President Obama and Congress from 
focusing on top priorities like job creation and strengthening the 
economy. As we now know, these reckless actions had real consequences 
for our economy and global financial markets. Studies by the non-
partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Bipartisan 
Policy Center found that delays in raising the debt limit in 2011 cost 
taxpayers approximately $19 billion over ten years in higher government 
borrowing costs. Consumer confidence plummeted, suffering the largest 
monthly decline (59.2 to 44.5) during the month of August that year, 
which was the most since the 2008 financial crisis. In addition, a 
Bloomberg survey of economists found that the debt limit brinkmanship 
``almost derailed the recovery.'' Lastly, a recent survey of the 
world's top economists by the University of Chicago's Booth School of 
Business found that 84 percent agreed that failure to raise the debt 
limit in a timely manner creates unneeded uncertainty and could 
significantly damage our financial markets. Although I am pleased that 
House Leadership has chosen not to repeat the same mistakes from 2011, 
it is worrying to see that the majority of House Republicans still 
oppose raising the debt limit, considering the economic damage they 
caused three years ago.
  The legislation before us today is supported by a broad array of 
business leaders, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Business 
Roundtable, and American Bankers Association. Lastly, Federal Reserve 
Chairwoman Janet Yellen recently testified that failing to raise the 
debt limit would be ``catastrophic'' for the global economy. As our 
country continues to recover from the worst financial crisis since the 
Great Depression, it is Congress' duty to avoid any unnecessary 
brinkmanship that risks plunging our economy back into a recession.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Temporary Debt Limit 
Extension Act.

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