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Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, the most consequential question now before Congress--the one that most impacts the most people we all represent-- is whether the United States of America will do what it has always done: pay its bills in full and on time.

It was Alexander Hamilton who established the precedent that has become an enduring principle: America pays its bills.

But in order to preserve that principle, Congress must raise the debt limit. It is important to remind ourselves that raising the debt ceiling does not allow any additional spending, nor does it include new obligations for our taxpayers. It allows Congress to continue to pay for the spending that has already been approved by this and prior Congresses.

The debt ceiling is an anomaly in the United States. Other countries recognize the obvious. When a legislative body approves spending-- whether it is for the defense of the nation, the healthcare of its citizens, the support for its farmers--it is then that the legislative body incurs the obligation. It is really no different than when a family takes out a mortgage or a car loan. When that bill becomes due each month, you pay the mortgage and you pay the car loan. Otherwise, things end very badly for that family, as they will for our country if we allow the United States to default on its debt.

The debt limit debate in the past was accompanied by political grandstanding from both parties. The party out of power used it to criticize the economic record of the incumbent party. But grandstanding was always set aside, and the President and the majority party in Congress--Republican or Democratic--accepted the burden of raising the debt ceiling to make sure the country did not default.

This time, the House's default threat is different. It is far more dangerous and far more extreme, even than in 2011.

Let me explain.

A default looms as early as June 1, and congressional leaders met this week with President Biden.

The President and all of the leaders pledged that default was not an option--all except one leader. Speaker McCarthy continues to champion the House bill that will lead us to default unless the Congress and the President capitulate to House Republicans' very extreme budgetary demands. Their budget would cut veteran benefits, furlough thousands of Border Patrol agents even as title 42 expires, and it would repeal key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and the thousands of jobs--many of which, by the way, are in Republican districts--that it has created.

The Speaker's demands that President Biden relinquish his primary legislative achievement, the IRA, really would be comparable to the Democrats demanding when Donald Trump was President that, as a condition of not defaulting, he repeal what he regarded as his signature legislative accomplishment: his tax cuts--which, by the way, were vehemently opposed by Democrats.

Speaker McCarthy's posture reflects the posture of his conference and the reality within his own caucus. He won't take default off the table because he can't. The most extreme Members of his caucus have extracted numerous concessions to lend their support, and it took 15 votes for him to get elected to the speakership. What we are seeing now is the result: They will default unless they get their way.

Former President Trump, who as President raised the debt ceiling multiple times, is still a leading voice for many of the Republicans in the caucus. Last night on CNN, at a townhall meeting, he encouraged default, adding fuel to the fire and even more peril for our country.

I think we all know, in all candor, that the default threat would be catastrophic, and we are being propelled over the brink.

All responsible people know that a default--No. 1, it would destroy America's reputation and jeopardize the value of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. No. 2, it would really delight our Russian and Chinese adversaries, who would promote our default for what it is-- a sign of internal weakness, economic chaos, and disunity. A default in all likelihood would plunge our fragile economy into a recession, hurting Americans across the entire country regardless of what their political persuasion was. In a very cruel irony, according to Moody's, a default could increase our deficit by as much as $850 billion, not reduce it as default advocates claim.

We can't allow default. We can't allow self-inflicted harm to befall Americans with the Speaker's very reckless gambit.

I thank Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Jeffries, and President Biden for taking default off the table.

Speaker McCarthy, before it is too late, do the same.

I am willing, as I believe the vast majority of our colleagues are, to engage in a serious budget discussion to bring down America's debt, but what I am not willing to do--not now, not ever--is abandon America's historic commitment to paying its bills. I am not willing to inflict the damage to our economy and the pain on our people a catastrophic default would impose, nor is President Biden.

While leadership talks continue, all of us must be mindful of the real peril we face, and we must take the precautionary step of reviewing the 14th Amendment and its requirement. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment states:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned.

The Constitution is saying what we all know: A debt incurred is a debt that must be paid.

Every obligation tied to our debt is a result of a law that this or a previous Congress has passed. To renege on the obligation that law required, whether to our veterans, our seniors, our farmers, or the military, is for Congress to tell the President to break that law and disobey the Constitution.

We cannot do this. We must not do this. We must, as America has always done, pay our bills in full and on time.

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