WASHINGTON, D.C. – On May 17, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) joined his Democratic colleagues in taking action to raise the debt limit and avoid a U.S. default.
Rep. Courtney was the 19th Member to sign the discharge petition—a legislative procedural tool—which will force the House of Representatives to vote to raise the debt ceiling without Speaker McCarthy’s backing. If the petition receives 218 signatures, House Democrats will be able to bring a sensible, bipartisan bill to a vote that ensures the U.S. can pay its bills without making draconian cuts to popular, critical public programs.
“One of the pillars of our economy is the belief around the world that the U.S. is a stable government that follows through on its obligations and pays its bills. Today, I joined my colleagues in taking action to ensure we avoid a catastrophic U.S. default and uphold our position as a reliable global partner,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02).
“President Biden, Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell have all been clear they want to avoid a default—just as Congress has achieved with a clean debt limit bill 78 times before, including three times under former President Trump. Meanwhile, Speaker McCarthy and his caucus are playing chicken with the debt limit and willfully forcing our nation to stare down the barrel of an impending default in order to leverage a dead-on-arrival wish list of conservative policies,” Courtney added.
Recently, House Republicans passed the Default on America Act –a dead-on-arrival bill that would:
- Put 313,000 people at risk of losing health insurance in Connecticut.
- Strip nutrition food assistance from at least 12,000 women, infants, and children in Connecticut.
- Threaten access to food assistance for 11,000 people aged 50-55 in Connecticut.
- Eliminate preschool and child care for at least 2,800 children in Connecticut.
- Increase housing costs for at least 11,100 people in Connecticut.
- Make college more expensive for at least 79,300 students in Connecticut.
- Eliminate at least 6 air traffic control towers in Connecticut.
- Cut at least 50 rail safety inspection days in Connecticut.
- Repeal investments in cleaner, cheaper energy — threatening at least 45 clean energy and manufacturing jobs announced in Connecticut since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
And if Republicans don’t get their way, they’re threatening to default on our nation’s bills, unleashing economic catastrophe and putting vital government services at risk:
- Kill about 7,300 jobs in CT-02 alone. Nationwide, a default could kill more than 7 million jobs.
- Jeopardize Social Security payments for 97,000 families in CT-02.
- Put health benefits at risk for 264,000 people in CT-02 who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health coverage.
- Increase lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in Connecticut by $64,000.
- Raise the costs of a new car loan for the typical American by $800.
- Threaten the retirement savings of 111,900 people near retirement in CT-02, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.
Original source can be found here.
