[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Debt Ceiling

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for over 2 years, the Biden 
administration has failed to attend to some of the most basic governing 
duties. Stable prices, secure borders, and safe streets are three of 
the most fundamental responsibilities that any government owes its 
people.
  But Washington Democrats neglected the basics for their pet 
priorities. They spent trillions of dollars on government goodies that 
nobody asked for, triggered the worst inflation in 40 years, and turned 
a blind eye to the border crisis and a crime wave, all occurring on 
their watch.
  They caused the damage on party-line votes, without any input from 
the Republican side. In response, the American people flipped the House 
and chose a closely divided Senate. The voters dialed up the checks and 
the balances. The people went to the ballot box and demanded the 
Democrats start negotiating and compromising.
  But the President is refusing to engage. Even as his own advisers say 
the debt ceiling is approaching fast, the White House is totally MIA. 
His position has been no negotiation, no reforms.
  It is such an absurd position that even fellow Democrats are not 
buying it. The senior Senator from West Virginia, a Democrat, has 
publicly called on the President to sit down with Speaker McCarthy and 
negotiate.
  Listen to the House Democrats: ``Get to work and get it done for the 
sake of the country,'' says one. ``They've got to do it soon,'' says 
another.
  Just a few years ago, the Democratic leader said debt limit talks 
were an ``opportunity for bipartisanship.''
  And what about President Biden himself? Here is what then-Vice 
President Biden said about the debt ceiling back in 2011. ``Some of 
them are still unwilling to budge . . . taking an absolute position: my 
way or no way. . . . That's not governing,'' said the Vice President in 
2011.
  My goodness, that is harsh criticism for the 2023 version of 
President Biden from the 2011 version of Vice President Biden.
  The Democrats' reckless policies have already dealt far too much 
damage to our country. This administration's inflation has hammered 
working families' budgets. Their anti-energy policies have raised gas 
prices and utility bills. Their attempt to reinvent cash welfare 
without work requirements hurt small businesses by worsening labor 
shortages and hurt families by promoting dependence.
  So the working people of this country have already paid a heavy 
enough price for Democrats' failures. We should not even come within a 
mile of flirting with a Democratic debt default on top of all the rest.
  It is time for President Biden to stop the partisan stubbornness, 
join Speaker McCarthy at the grownups' table, and get talking.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.