[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H287-H288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DEBT LIMIT AND IMPACT ON WORKING FAMILIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Speaker, I know I am going to be the third 
Democratic speaker to talk about the debt limit, but I think it is a 
point that needs to be made.
  Madam Speaker, every single day Americans across our country are 
forced to take extraordinary measures just to keep a roof over their 
head and food on the table. Now, because of the extremist agenda of 
some of our Republican colleagues, the Department of the Treasury has 
begun to do the same to avoid a default.
  The consequences of such a default could be catastrophic. The first 
real default in U.S. history could lead to a sudden jump in interest 
rates and raise mortgage, car, and credit card payments for our working 
families. As the Federal Government struggles to maintain its financial 
commitments, payments for Social Security, benefits for veterans, and 
paychecks for military servicemembers could be delayed and suspended.
  By one estimate, a default could add $130,000 to the cost of an 
average 30-year mortgage, eliminate over 3 million jobs, and increase 
the national debt by an additional $850 billion. As much as $15 
trillion in household wealth could be wiped out in the ensuing 
recession. Our competitors across the world, like China and Russia, 
would surely see this U.S. default as an indication of American decline 
and be further emboldened.
  As the Representative of Hawaii's Second Congressional District, I 
speak on behalf of the diverse communities I represent, spanning all 
eight Hawaiian islands. I am here to fight for working families 
struggling with the high cost of living, small businesses providing 
jobs and opportunities for our residents, senior citizens seeking 
security in retirement in old age, and above all, our children and 
their futures.
  In my first month alone on this job, we find our country inching 
toward a debt crisis at the national level that could devastate my 
constituents and their ability to care for their families--all caused 
by the extreme politics of my Republican colleagues.

[[Page H288]]

  This is not a short-term, one-off issue. The implications for our 
economy, on our foreign policy, and on our communities are severe and 
long term.
  When I sit down at my kitchen table every night and look across at my 
sons, I worry. Will they have their own kitchen table filled with 
family in Hawaii?

                              {time}  1045

  If Republicans force our country into a default, their future will be 
even more challenging to afford a home of their own or to be able to 
even rent one, to own a car to get to work or to save for their 
children's future.
  Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, 
with residents paying on average 42 percent of their income on rent, 
the highest of any State. I know that workers and families of every 
single one of our districts are struggling every day to make ends meet.
  The American people need to see solutions, not just grandstanding. 
They need to see progress so that they can hope for a better future. 
That means we have to build and act on the progress delivered by the 
first 2 years of the Biden administration and one of the most 
productive Congresses in modern history. In these 2 years, Democrats 
have lowered healthcare costs, created nearly 11 million jobs, 
supported over 10 million new small business applications, put shovels 
in the ground on 7,000 new infrastructure projects, and invested in a 
revival of American manufacturing.
  This Congress should be building on the progress of the last 2 years, 
not tearing it down by flirting with default and make unacceptable 
demands to cut Social Security, Medicare, and other critical programs 
that working families across the country depend on.
  Why would House Republicans hold our economy hostage and the American 
people in anxious suspense for months when they can pass a clean debt 
limit increase right now?
  When House Republicans tried to do this in 2011, they forced an 
unnecessary economic shock to our country that resulted in the first 
time our credit has ever been downgraded in our history. We cannot do 
that again.
  We can have a reasoned debate, discussion, and negotiations over the 
right level of government spending, as every Congress does every year 
through the budget and appropriations process. But whether the United 
States pays its bill on time must not be a pawn in a Republican 
political game. Our families work hard to pay their bills on time; 
their government should too.
  I have heard from so many people how much they love Hawaii; so do I. 
If you have the chance to visit our home stop and take a look. One in 
five residents depend on their Social Security benefits every single 
month. Madam Speaker, 1 in 10 people who call Hawaii home are veterans 
or Active-Duty servicemembers. These are the faces of the people held 
hostage and hurt by Republicans.
  We have an opportunity to rise above our differences and give them a 
Congress that has their best interests squarely in sight, one that 
gives them hope.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to work with us to 
quickly pass a clean debt limit raise as soon as possible. The American 
people and our constituents deserve no less.

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