[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 177 (Thursday, October 7, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6949-S6950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               DEBT LIMIT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Republican members and Democratic 
members of staff negotiated through the night in good faith. The Senate 
is moving toward the plan I laid out yesterday to spare the American 
people a manufactured crisis. All year, the Democratic government has 
made unprecedented and repeated use of reconciliation to pass radical 
policies on party-line votes.
  So, back in July, Republicans informed our colleagues they would need 
to pursue any long-term increase in the debt ceiling through the same 
process. The President, the Speaker, and the Democratic leader had 3 
months' notice to do their jobs, but for 2\1/2\ months the Democratic 
leaders did nothing and then complained that they were actually short 
on time.
  The majority didn't have a plan to prevent default, so we stepped 
forward. The pathway our Democratic colleagues have accepted will spare 
the

[[Page S6950]]

American people any near-term crisis while definitively resolving the 
majority's excuse that they lacked time to address the debt limit 
through the 304 reconciliation process. Now there will be no question; 
they will have plenty of time.
  Or, if our colleagues would instead prefer a more traditional 
bipartisan discussion around basic governance, they can stop trying to 
ram through yet another reckless taxing-and-spending spree that would 
hurt families and help China. That would be the path toward that kind 
of discussion.

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