[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1353-S1354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Debt Ceiling

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, for months, the President has been clear 
that he will not allow the full faith and credit of the United States 
to be taken hostage. He has rejected brinksmanship, hostage-taking, and 
asked for what is the only way to solve this problem given where we are 
at right now, which is clean, clean, avoiding default--clean to avoid 
default.
  To avoid default, Democrats have asked Speaker McCarthy and 
Republicans to present a credible plan, but last week Republicans 
instead released an extremist, hard-right agenda, written in a 
backroom, in secret, to win support from the Freedom Caucus. The GOP's 
``Default on America Act,'' as we call it, does not bring us any closer 
to avoiding a first-ever default. In fact, it only brings us 
dangerously closer to defaulting.
  The ``Default on America Act'' would mean fewer jobs, higher costs 
for the American people, and would leave policemen, first responders, 
Border Patrol, and our brave veterans all hanging out to dry.
  For those who worry about gun violence and crime and keeping our 
communities safe, the ``Default on America Act'' will wipe out nearly 
30,000 law enforcement while also gutting critical resources to secure 
the border. Donald Trump told House Republicans to defund law 
enforcement, and so the ``Default on America Act,'' on cue, does just 
that.
  That is what the ``Default on America Act'' does. And not just that; 
it would eliminate over 142,000 new jobs, including 18,000 
manufacturing jobs that have been created since the Inflation Reduction 
Act was passed.
  If you are a parent struggling to pay for childcare, the ``Default on 
America Act'' will eliminate more than 105,000 childcare slots across 
the country, making it harder for parents to find work, finish their 
education, or even provide for their families.
  If you know someone who struggled with addiction, this bill would 
also worsen the opioid epidemic by cutting critical HHS programs by 
over $10 billion in the next decade. That is the definition of cruelty.
  If you want to go to college, the Republican package will slash Pell 
grants for all students by $1,000 and even eliminate Pell grants 
entirely for tens of thousands of Americans.
  And for those who worry about gun violence and keeping our 
communities

[[Page S1354]]

safe, the ``Default on America Act'' will wipe out nearly 30,000 law 
enforcement positions while gutting critical resources to secure the 
border. Again, Donald Trump told House Republicans to defund law 
enforcement, and the ``Default on America Act,'' on cue, does just 
that.
  Put plainly, the House Republicans are hell-bent on default one way 
or another--either a default on the debt or a default on everything 
else: on our future, our children, our promise to care for our kids and 
veterans and law enforcement and first responders. No matter what 
happens, Republicans are promising real pain for American families.
  And what happened just a few hours ago in the wee hours of the 
morning? Plainly, Speaker McCarthy capitulated even further to the hard 
right. Again, if anything, this revised bill is even more extreme, more 
radical--a more radical version of the ``Default on America Act.'' It 
brings us no closer to avoiding a default on the national debt.
  Let me be clear. Democrats cannot and will not allow the 
Republicans's ``DOA Act'' to ever become law. It is DOA, plain and 
simple. And if Republicans refuse to level with the public about the 
terrible things their ``Default on America Act'' will do to them, 
Democrats will do the work ourselves. We will let America know how bad 
this is because Republicans are intent on hiding it. They know how 
unpopular it would be.
  In the meantime, Speaker McCarthy needs to recognize that all the 
energy he is putting into passing the ``Default on America Act'' will 
be wasted effort. The Speaker should drop the brinksmanship, drop the 
hostage-taking, come to the table with Democrats, and pass a clean bill 
to avoid default. Given where the Republican proposal is, that is the 
only way to go. Time is running out.