[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1715-S1716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Debt Ceiling

  Mr. President, default, all week long, both sides have kept talking 
about the future of our Nation's budget, while at the same time moved 
closer to fulfilling our responsibility to preserve the full faith and 
credit of the United States.
  Avoiding default is non-negotiable. It must be our north star, and 
that cannot change. I am pleased that over the course of this week, 
everyone has acknowledged that allowing the country to default would be 
a catastrophe. I am also pleased that the other side has recognized 
that the best way forward is a bipartisan piece of legislation that

[[Page S1716]]

can secure enough votes to get through both the House and the Senate.
  Partisan legislation just won't produce the result we need. I am 
hopeful that soon, both sides will find an agreement that keeps default 
completely off the table. We have made good progress this week, but the 
work continues. No one will get everything they want.
  From the beginning, Democrats have said--I have said--that this 
process demands bipartisanship. It is how we avoided default under 
President Trump. It is how we avoided default under President Biden, 
and it is how we should avoid default this time too.
  Brinksmanship, hiding plans, hostage-taking, none of that will move 
us any closer to a solution, but working together and accepting that 
nobody will get everything they want is the way to go.
  Since the founding of our country, one thing has remained constant: 
When it is time to pay the bills, America has followed through. It is 
one of the cornerstones of our Nation's success.
  If America would ever fail to pay its bills, the consequences would 
be horrific. Default would bring recession. Default would kill 8 
million jobs. Default would send soaring costs on credit card payments, 
mortgages, small businesses, loans, and erode people's 401(k)s. 
Nobody--nobody--wants that. Americans certainly can't afford it; so we 
in Congress must avoid it at all costs.
  I hope that negotiations continue in the right direction.
  I yield the floor.