[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1121-S1122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Debt Ceiling

  Now, Mr. President, on the debt ceiling, today is the start of a 
consequential work period here in Congress, but instead of getting to 
work in our Nation's Capital, House Republican leadership took a field 
trip to New York City. It was sort of a circus. Today's big spectacle, 
of course, was Speaker McCarthy's speech at the New York Stock 
Exchange, where he recycled the same old talking points but failed to 
provide anything new or anything of substance.
  One thing is clear from this morning's theatrics: While Democrats 
want to preserve America's full faith and credit, Speaker McCarthy 
continues to bumble our country toward default, which would cause the 
economy to crash, cause jobs to crater, and drastically raise costs 
across the board for American families.
  Amazingly, one of the few specifics McCarthy did present was his 
terrible idea to kick the can down the road for just a year and undergo 
this same default crisis all over again a year from now. Would anyone 
agree to undergo this fiasco again next year? Give me a break.
  I will be blunt. If Speaker McCarthy continues in this direction, he 
is heading us toward default. Do you know what will avoid default? 
Republicans working with Democrats to avert this crisis altogether, 
just as we did under Donald Trump.
  Speaker McCarthy, in his speech, invoked President Reagan, but Ronald 
Reagan was never reckless like McCarthy is being. In fact, it was 
Reagan who said:

       [Debt ceiling] brinkmanship threatens the holders of 
     government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and 
     veterans benefits. . . . The United States has a special 
     responsibility to itself and the world to meet its 
     obligations.

  And despite the Speaker's stated concerns about costs, nothing--
nothing--would do more to raise costs for American families than 
default.

[[Page S1122]]

  Now, for months, Speaker McCarthy has insisted on cuts in exchange 
for avoiding a default. We all know the best way to avoid default is 
with no brinkmanship, no hostage-taking. Do it clean. President Trump 
did it twice with Democrats and Republicans working together, and 
President Biden did it once with Democrats and Republicans working 
together. That is the way to do this.
  McCarthy is insisting on cuts, but, to boot, he doesn't say what 
those cuts are. As I have said previously, there is a time and place to 
discuss cuts, but that is not part of this conversation. It belongs in 
the discussion about the budget, not as a precondition for avoiding 
default.
  Again, let me repeat that so they might hear it on the other side, in 
the House Chamber: The discussion about cuts belongs in the discussion 
about budget, not as a precondition for avoiding default.
  The solution here is straightforward. Republicans should work with 
Democrats in good faith to avoid default altogether just as we did with 
Donald Trump: no blackmail, no brinkmanship, no default.
  Speaker McCarthy, show us your plan.
  President Biden and I are happy to meet with Speaker McCarthy when he 
has something to talk about--a plan--as most Democratic leaders are, 
but we need to see his plan first so we can start from there and work 
to avoid a catastrophic default altogether. If we go to meetings 
without Speaker McCarthy having a plan, what are we going to do--talk 
about the furniture? the weather?
  Finally, Speaker McCarthy, today, quoted a great Yankee, the great 
Babe Ruth, saying:

       You just can't beat the person who never gives up.

  Well, first, Speaker McCarthy, don't quote a Yankee to me in New York 
City. Second, the Speaker is right; he has never given up. However, 
that is only because he has never started: no plan, no progress, no 
persistence.
  So, to make sense of today's speech, I think it was another great 
Yankee, the great No. 8, Yogi Berra, who hit the nail on the head. 
``It's deja vu all over again,'' Yogi said. It applies exactly to 
Speaker McCarthy's speech today--no plan, no progress, nothing.
  Speaker McCarthy, show us a plan. Work to deliver for the American 
people.
  To sum it all up, Speaker McCarthy plays a risky and dangerous game 
when insisting on imposing severe cuts which would hurt the American 
people and threaten our economy before we avoid default. In addition, 
to boot, he can't even reveal what those cuts are. This is a sad truth, 
but it is the truth. If Speaker McCarthy doesn't change his course, he 
could well take this country over the cliff to default for the first 
time.