WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today gave the following speech on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding the House Republican effort to once again take our economy to the brink of default through a debt ceiling resolution of disapproval:
“Madam speaker, we should not even be considering this resolution. I repeat, we should not even be considering this resolution. We should be moving forward, not backwards. This resolution is a dangerous distraction from the unprecedented challenge before us. Fourteen million Americans are looking for work. Fourteen million. The Census Bureau reported just yesterday that the poverty rate is higher than it's been in 17 years -- 17 years. And median income in this country is at 1996 levels -- 1996 levels. The president has proposed a job bill that one knowledgeable observer, Mark Zandi, estimates would create 1.9 million new jobs and add two percentage points to GDP growth next year.
“We need action to spur economic growth and job creation. That's what we should be considering today. Instead, through this resolution, Republicans want to prolong the agony of the debt limit debate and take us back to the brink of default, which would be where we would be if you succeeded. This bill can pass the House only if members who voted yes in August on this issue decide in essence to vote no in September. Yes, in august -- Yes in August -- no in September.
“This nation wants us to be guided by the needs of the nation, not the internal politics of a caucus or a conference. We've seen the consequences of that kind of thing. Standard and Poor’s said in downgrading our credit rating, and I quote, ‘it involved a level of brinkmanship greater than what we had expected earlier in the year,’ end of quote. In August, consumer confidence dropped by the largest amount since the peak of the financial crisis in 2008. And the conference board noted a direct link between that fall and the debate over default. And I think we need only to check 401k statements from August to remember the precipitous drop in the stock market.
“Were this resolution to become law -- and all those who speak or vote for it have to understand that -- the U.S. would default on its obligations for the first time in our history. This would throw our economy back into deep recession, trigger $400 billion in immediate job-destroying cuts and call into question our ability to pay earned Social Security and Medicare benefits.
“Madam speaker, we should not be considering this resolution today. We should be moving forward on the president's plan to jumpstart our economy and create jobs for American workers. The American jobs act would put more money in workers' pockets through a temporary tax cut, saving the average family $1,500 a year. It would also keep over six million workers from losing their unemployment benefits while they continue searching for work and provide this proposal new employer incentives to help get them hired.
“If we don’t act on these issues over 1 million people will lose their unemployment benefits in January and over 2 million will lose them in February. So we need to act. We need to look ahead. Not just try to go backwards. So I strongly urge my colleagues to vote no on this resolution so we won’t waste one more minute on a renewal of Republican brinksmanship.
“Fourteen million Americans who are looking for a job and 43 million Americans who are living in poverty can’t afford to wait one minute longer."
