[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         LET'S GET BACK TO WORK

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, on August 3 the United States will have 
$306 billion in obligations and $173 billion to address those 
obligations. At that moment, if the debt ceiling is not raised, our 
Nation for the first time in its history will default on its 
obligations.
  The cost of borrowing for small business, home mortgages, student and 
auto loans will all increase. This will hit hard every American and 
could push this economy into another recession. The American people 
want a serious and balanced approach to avoid disaster and deal with 
our Nation's debt problem. They want Congress to work in a bipartisan 
way to create jobs and new business investment.
  The House Republicans' short-term bill does nothing to create 
economic certainty necessary for sustained economic growth. Instead, it 
will keep the threat of default alive for months as a continuing drag 
on this economy. We need a real long-term bill to provide economic 
stability and certainty. We need a balanced bill that protects Social 
Security and Medicare, and we need a bipartisan bill we can pass 
quickly to prevent default.

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