[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H515-H516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RAISING AND EXTENDING THE DEBT CEILING 78 TIMES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, since 1960, Congress has raised and extended 
the debt limit 78 times over a 63-year period.
  Let's put this in perspective: 49 times under Republican 
administrations, 29 times under Democratic Presidents. Sixty-three 
years we have raised the debt ceiling 78 times.
  We are one of only two democratic nations with a statutory debt 
ceiling and the only one, because of the magnificent extent of our 
country, the U.S. dollar being the common currency of the world that 
can threaten a global economic crisis--think about that--by playing 
around with the debt ceiling.
  The debt ceiling has no impact on government spending. Why? Because 
it only commences to pay the bills that we have already committed 
ourselves to. Both Republicans and Democrats have passed legislation 
that has created debt, that requires us to pay Social Security, that 
requires us to pay other mandatory programs in which there has been 
bipartisan support for.
  Instead, this debt ceiling restricts the Treasury, if, in fact, we do 
not lift the debt ceiling, from paying those bills. That is why for 
over 63 years, 78 times, the Congress has chosen to raise the debt 
ceiling. Why? Because we don't want to put the liability of the world's 
economy, let alone the U.S. economy, at risk.
  We don't want to be deadbeats, right? I think most Americans feel 
they

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ought to pay their bills. My colleagues on the other side want to hold 
the debt ceiling hostage, leaving Social Security recipients and 
veterans potentially without their pensions or benefits.
  Does that make any sense? If we default on our debt, over 6 million 
jobs could be diminished. Seniors may not get their benefits for a 
period of time. Costs will skyrocket. Some economists indicate we could 
put $12 trillion of American savings at risk if it were extended in 
this gamesmanship, this attempt to stare each other down, on whether or 
not we lift the debt ceiling.
  That makes no sense. That is risky business. We ought to raise our 
debt ceiling and pay our bills, and I think there is common agreement 
that we ought to get our debt under control.
  As a Blue Dog, our focus and purpose of being is in the area of 
fiscal responsibility. As a matter of fact, the last American President 
that balanced the budget was President Bill Clinton. That was a while 
ago.
  I think that there is common bipartisan agreement to focus on waste, 
on fraud, and abuse. I mean, those are the buzzwords, right? If we 
could only focus on waste, fraud, and abuse. But no one wants to 
highlight, well, how will that impact Social Security? How will that 
impact other mandatory spending that we have all committed to on a 
bipartisan basis?
  The way to do this is for Republicans and Democrats to come together, 
separate from raising the debt ceiling, and agree to focus on two 
things that cause debt--expenditures and revenues.
  If we can get an agreement on what we think the Nation's 
responsibility to be on our priorities for expenditures and the 
necessary revenues to pay for them, then, only then, would we get our 
deficit under control, which is what, by the way, President Bill 
Clinton was able to do a while ago on a bipartisan basis.
  So let's get real. Let's not hold the American people hostage, our 
economy, or the global economy as we play fast and loose with this talk 
and notion of whether or not to lift the debt ceiling. We must lift the 
debt ceiling because it is the responsible thing to do.
  I ask my colleagues on the other side: Let's come together, let's 
work on fiscal responsibility in a bipartisan fashion because we 
should. It is obviously an important, critical issue as we move 
forward. Let's not play fast and loose with whether or not we are going 
to be deadbeats and whether or not we are going to pay our bills. That 
is putting the American economy at risk. It is something we should not 
do.

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