Dear Speaker Boehner:
Tomorrow the Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to mark up H.R. 807, legislation introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock to prepare for a U.S. government default by prioritizing debt payments. The bill would essentially legislate who gets paid and who doesn’t in a default. It is our understanding, based on news accounts, that House Republicans are preparing to bring this bill to the floor in May, despite warnings from economists across the political spectrum that such an effort will only further undermine the stability required for our economy to continue its recovery.
What’s equally troubling is that even as the Republican Conference works to repeat the debt ceiling brinksmanship that so badly damaged our economy nearly two years ago, you refuse to work toward a budget agreement that will help grow our economy and achieve balanced deficit reduction to replace the harmful sequester.
We urge you to stop playing games with the debt ceiling, appoint conferees immediately and convene a conference committee so that we can reach a budget agreement. There is no time to waste.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Sander Levin
The Honorable Charles Rangel
The Honorable Jim McDermott
The Honorable John Lewis
The Honorable Richard Neal
The Honorable Xavier Becerra
The Honorable Lloyd Doggett
The Honorable Mike Thompson
The Honorable John Larson
The Honorable Earl Blumenauer
The Honorable Ron Kind
The Honorable Bill Pascrell Jr.
The Honorable Joseph Crowley
The Honorable Allyson Schwartz
The Honorable Danny Davis
The Honorable Linda Sanchez
