[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11680-11681]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        END DEBT DEFAULT CRISIS

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, it is time to come together and put an 
end to this debt default crisis. Economists and business leaders warn 
us that failing to pay our Nation's bills would spell disaster for this 
economy. Interest rates would skyrocket, the dollar plummet, our modest 
economic recovery wiped away.
  Are my Republican colleagues really going to continue to hold the 
U.S. hostage to protect special interests, subsidies for big oil, and 
profitable corporations sending jobs overseas at the expense of 
seniors? Are my Republican colleagues really going to drive this 
economy over the cliff?
  Last year they promised America a jobs agenda, and now they confess 
they have none. Nearly a thousand of my constituents have contacted my 
office in the last two weeks concerned about the consequences of 
default. One writes: ``If our elected leaders . . . let our country 
fall into default, it would be inexcusable. There must be compromise.''

[[Page 11681]]

  It is time to stop focusing on political posturing and give the 
American people the leadership they deserve for a stronger American 
future.

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