[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 89 (Thursday, May 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DEBT CEILING CRISIS

  (Mr. CARTWRIGHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, people at home who might be listening 
to this may be wondering: Why is it so important that Speaker McCarthy 
pay our Nation's bills on time?
  Why does Speaker McCarthy need to do that? It is because of what can 
happen if he doesn't.
  It isn't just that seniors won't get their Social Security checks on 
time. It isn't just that veterans won't get their medical care at VA 
hospitals. It isn't just that Medicare and Medicaid bills won't get 
processed. It is that interest rates will immediately go up because 
interest rates reflect the risk of non-repayment.
  If we don't repay our national debt, then interest rates will go up 
on this country. We fall into a recession, and millions of jobs will go 
away. It is a horrible situation.
  Speaker McCarthy needs to pay our bills on time.
  This is a grotesque negotiation he has going on over at the White 
House even as we speak because whoever cares least about the well-being 
of America and America's standing in the world in that negotiation wins 
the negotiation.

  I say to Speaker McCarthy: Do your job.

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