[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         REPUBLICAN DEFAULT ACT

  (Mr. PETERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Republican 
Default Act, which will require deep cuts in Medicare while preserving 
tax breaks and loopholes for millionaires and large corporations. It is 
beyond disappointing that Republicans have squandered a real 
opportunity to put our Nation on a sustainable fiscal path.
  Many of my constituents are afraid the Republican leadership will 
continue bending to the Tea Party demands to drive our economy toward a 
self-inflicted recession.
  The risks here are very real. Default or a credit downgrade will hurt 
middle class families with higher mortgage and credit card interest 
rates and higher costs for food, gas, and utilities.
  Republicans need to stop playing reckless games with our economy and 
start working for what the American people want: comprehensive deficit 
reduction that shares the burden equally, strengthens Medicare and 
Social Security, ends tax giveaways, and puts our country back on the 
path to fiscal stability.

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