[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 11990-11991]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RAISING THE DEBT CEILING

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are now 1 week away from the 
unthinkable prospect of the United States of America defaulting on its 
loans for the first time in our history and not making good on promises 
we have made to families, veterans, senior citizens across the country.
  I am deeply disappointed we have gotten to this point. If we cannot 
come to an agreement by August 2, the consequences for our Nation and 
our economic recovery will be dire. A few weeks ago, the Bipartisan 
Policy Center put out a report that was actually authored by a former 
Bush Treasury official about what would happen if Congress failed to 
act and if the administration was forced to make desperate spending 
decisions in August. The scenarios were very grim.
  Potentially at risk were the benefits and health care we owe our 
veterans, loans for struggling small businesses, food stamps for people 
who are struggling to buy groceries, Social Security checks for our 
seniors, unemployment benefits for millions of workers who are 
desperately looking for jobs today, and even Active-Duty pay for our 
military.
  If the debt ceiling is not raised, we also face the very real and 
frightening possibility of our economy falling back into another deep 
recession, interest rates going up for our families and consumers, 
millions of workers losing their jobs, and small businesses being 
forced to close their doors. These risks

[[Page 11991]]

are unacceptable. People are still recovering in this tough economy and 
they cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them.
  Many families from my home State of Washington have reached out to my 
office throughout this debate, trying to figure out what they would do 
if the support they depend upon to stay in their homes, to put food on 
their tables is suddenly cut off. They have a pretty simple message: 
Get it done, compromise, and put American families first.
  One letter came from Anne Phillips from Tacoma, WA, who after 18 
years of work was laid off during the recession. Anne told me about how 
she felt she was doing the responsible thing by getting herself up, 
dusting herself off, going back to college. But now she is worried sick 
because of the fact that the interest rate she pays on her student 
loans, which she relies on to pay for school, would shoot up if we 
default.
  In her letter, Anne made clear who the real victims of default would 
be. She said: ``Ultimately people like me, my husband, my family, and 
all the people I know who are doing their best every day to make the 
contribution to society will pay the expense.''
  Anne is not alone in her concern. I have heard from veterans such as 
Kenneth Huff, a retired master sergeant from Olympia, WA. He spent 28 
years serving our country. He told me how through a life in the 
military he learned the value of compromise and how he is tired of the 
way the peoples' work is not being done.
  He wrote:

       I agree. We can cut back on spending. I know we can do a 
     better job. But not on the backs of the very poor, the middle 
     class, veterans and our seniors who are on Social Security 
     and Medicare.

  I have also heard from Social Security recipients such as Alisa Terry 
from Bellingham, WA, who told me how important that monthly check is to 
her and what it would mean if she did not get it next month. She says:
  Social Security is my lifeline. It stands between me and 
homelessness.
  These families and seniors deserve to have the certainty of a Federal 
Government that stands ready to pay its debt. They do not deserve to 
turn on the news every day and read about the political games House 
Republicans are playing with their lives and economic future. Democrats 
have been at the table. We have been ready and willing to compromise 
for months and months. We know we need to get this done. We have 
offered compromise after compromise. We have come to the middle and 
beyond. We have offered serious and deep cuts in Federal spending--very 
hard for some of us to do.
  We have put it on the table and then we offered even more. But again 
and again, the House Republicans have said no. They refuse to 
compromise, and they refuse to come to the middle. Time and time again, 
they seem to be more interested in satisfying the most extreme elements 
of their base than on finding real solutions for the people of this 
country.
  The House Republicans even sent us a bill they called cut, cap and 
balance that was not only widely understood to be a political gimmick 
but it had no chance of becoming law, and not only would it have been 
absolutely devastating for families and seniors across this country but 
it managed to waste precious time in Congress at a point when that 
resource is getting scarcer and scarcer.
  So we are down to the wire. Political games need to end. They need to 
stop finding ways to say no and start figuring out what they can say 
yes to. The bill we introduced last night is a compromise. I do not 
believe it is perfect, but it gets us where we need to get to protect 
families and small businesses across America from market uncertainty, 
not just for a month or two. That is not what American families need. 
They need to know they have that economic certainty and that we will 
not be back in this ball game in just a few short months, going through 
the same process, with people worried about their Social Security 
checks and veterans worried again and with the markets uncertain.
  The legislation that was introduced last night does make deep and 
serious cuts in government spending, savings that have either been 
discussed and agreed on in previous negotiations with Republicans or 
that Republicans have actually used in the budgets they recently passed 
themselves.
  It does protect Medicare and Social Security that was promised to our 
seniors. It does not increase revenue, something many of us have argued 
time and time again needs to be a part of a balanced approach to a 
conclusion. But we understand compromise is important. So it does not 
increase revenue and that appears to be something my Republican 
colleagues have almost single-mindedly focused on in this process. So 
we have given in on that.
  It puts our country on a more sustainable fiscal track, and it allows 
us to continue the important work to reduce the debt and deficit 
without the threat of economic calamity hanging over our heads such as 
the current House proposal does.
  On this side, Democrats have bent over backward to get this done. We 
compromised. We compromised again and then again. The bill that was 
introduced last night on our side is the fruit of many compromises. We 
did this not because we think this is the ideal way to tackle this 
issue--Democrats do want a larger and a more balanced package that we 
believe will address our problems in a responsible way for years to 
come--but we put this forward because we know the American people want 
results, not rhetoric, and we know the consequences of inaction are far 
too high.
  I call on our Republican colleagues to support this legislation, stop 
playing politics with the American economy, and work with us to solve 
this problem for the American people.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________