[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                              BAN THE BOMB

  (Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is 
incomprehensible to reasonable men and women everywhere that our 
colleagues across the aisle are threatening to nuke the American 
economy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless their demands are 
met. This is irresponsible and reckless behavior. ``Nuke'' is the right 
word to use here. As Warren Buffett noted recently, even the threat of 
default should be likened to nuclear weapons too terrible to ever use.
  Allowing the U.S. to default on its obligations, whether it be an 
interest payment on a Treasury bond, a check due to a Social Security 
recipient, or money due to a Federal contractor so they can pay their 
workers, would have a cataclysmic effect on our economy and would be 
felt around the world. It would be a mistake that would impoverish a 
generation and haunt us for a decade, and there could be no second 
opportunity to get it right.
  Anyone who dismisses how great a disaster a default would be should 
not be taken seriously. They should not be listened to or given a seat 
at the table where responsible decisions are made. Let's open up the 
government now.

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