[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 80 (Thursday, May 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1616-S1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Debt Ceiling

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, the most consequential question now before 
Congress--the one that most impacts the most people we all represent--
is whether the United States of America will do what it has always 
done: pay its bills in full and on time.
  It was Alexander Hamilton who established the precedent that has 
become an enduring principle: America pays its bills.
  But in order to preserve that principle, Congress must raise the debt 
limit. It is important to remind ourselves that raising the debt 
ceiling does not allow any additional spending, nor does it include new 
obligations for our taxpayers. It allows Congress to continue to pay 
for the spending that has already been approved by this and prior 
Congresses.
  The debt ceiling is an anomaly in the United States. Other countries 
recognize the obvious. When a legislative body approves spending--
whether it is for the defense of the nation, the healthcare of its 
citizens, the support for its farmers--it is then that the legislative 
body incurs the obligation. It is really no different than when a 
family takes out a mortgage or a car loan. When that bill becomes due 
each month, you pay the mortgage and you pay the car loan. Otherwise, 
things end

[[Page S1617]]

very badly for that family, as they will for our country if we allow 
the United States to default on its debt.
  The debt limit debate in the past was accompanied by political 
grandstanding from both parties. The party out of power used it to 
criticize the economic record of the incumbent party. But grandstanding 
was always set aside, and the President and the majority party in 
Congress--Republican or Democratic--accepted the burden of raising the 
debt ceiling to make sure the country did not default.
  This time, the House's default threat is different. It is far more 
dangerous and far more extreme, even than in 2011.
  Let me explain.
  A default looms as early as June 1, and congressional leaders met 
this week with President Biden.
  The President and all of the leaders pledged that default was not an 
option--all except one leader. Speaker McCarthy continues to champion 
the House bill that will lead us to default unless the Congress and the 
President capitulate to House Republicans' very extreme budgetary 
demands. Their budget would cut veteran benefits, furlough thousands of 
Border Patrol agents even as title 42 expires, and it would repeal key 
parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and the thousands of jobs--many of 
which, by the way, are in Republican districts--that it has created.
  The Speaker's demands that President Biden relinquish his primary 
legislative achievement, the IRA, really would be comparable to the 
Democrats demanding when Donald Trump was President that, as a 
condition of not defaulting, he repeal what he regarded as his 
signature legislative accomplishment: his tax cuts--which, by the way, 
were vehemently opposed by Democrats.
  Speaker McCarthy's posture reflects the posture of his conference and 
the reality within his own caucus. He won't take default off the table 
because he can't. The most extreme Members of his caucus have extracted 
numerous concessions to lend their support, and it took 15 votes for 
him to get elected to the speakership. What we are seeing now is the 
result: They will default unless they get their way.
  Former President Trump, who as President raised the debt ceiling 
multiple times, is still a leading voice for many of the Republicans in 
the caucus. Last night on CNN, at a townhall meeting, he encouraged 
default, adding fuel to the fire and even more peril for our country.
  I think we all know, in all candor, that the default threat would be 
catastrophic, and we are being propelled over the brink.
  All responsible people know that a default--No. 1, it would destroy 
America's reputation and jeopardize the value of the dollar as the 
world's reserve currency. No. 2, it would really delight our Russian 
and Chinese adversaries, who would promote our default for what it is--
a sign of internal weakness, economic chaos, and disunity. A default in 
all likelihood would plunge our fragile economy into a recession, 
hurting Americans across the entire country regardless of what their 
political persuasion was. In a very cruel irony, according to Moody's, 
a default could increase our deficit by as much as $850 billion, not 
reduce it as default advocates claim.
  We can't allow default. We can't allow self-inflicted harm to befall 
Americans with the Speaker's very reckless gambit.
  I thank Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Minority 
Leader Jeffries, and President Biden for taking default off the table.
  Speaker McCarthy, before it is too late, do the same.
  I am willing, as I believe the vast majority of our colleagues are, 
to engage in a serious budget discussion to bring down America's debt, 
but what I am not willing to do--not now, not ever--is abandon 
America's historic commitment to paying its bills. I am not willing to 
inflict the damage to our economy and the pain on our people a 
catastrophic default would impose, nor is President Biden.
  While leadership talks continue, all of us must be mindful of the 
real peril we face, and we must take the precautionary step of 
reviewing the 14th Amendment and its requirement. Section 4 of the 14th 
Amendment states:

       The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
     authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned.

  The Constitution is saying what we all know: A debt incurred is a 
debt that must be paid.
  Every obligation tied to our debt is a result of a law that this or a 
previous Congress has passed. To renege on the obligation that law 
required, whether to our veterans, our seniors, our farmers, or the 
military, is for Congress to tell the President to break that law and 
disobey the Constitution.
  We cannot do this. We must not do this. We must, as America has 
always done, pay our bills in full and on time.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). The senior Senator from Maryland.