Gluesenkamp Perez to President Biden, Speaker McCarthy: End the Debt Ceiling Standoff

After voting against House Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02), and Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (AK-At Large) wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urging them to engage in real negotiations to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.

“We’re running out of time to avoid a default on our nation’s debt obligations. Families, workers, and businesses in Southwest Washington cannot afford the dire economic consequences of a default. Speaker McCarthy needs to stop listening to extremists and start listening to moderates on both sides of the aisle. Congress also needs to pass a serious bipartisan plan to shrink the deficit and take on the national debt. The partisan bill shoved through the House today does none of that. Instead it undermines our ability to work toward a clean energy future, support our veterans, and level the playing field for the middle class. It was a waste of time our country cannot afford right now. Today I joined my colleagues Rep. Golden and Rep. Peltola in calling on President Biden and Congressional leadership to work together and find a solution that avoids a default. More games and more delay is unacceptable,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez.

In the letter, the members emphasize the devastating impacts that a default would have on their constituents and the economy and express their willingness to work across the aisle to reach a deal.

“To default on our debt – or, as occurred in 2011, simply flirting with default – would cause harm to our economy and damage the lives of the people we represent. With this reality, we call on both the President and the Speaker to engage in genuine talks offering real proposals that will result in an agreement to lift the debt limit. We stand ready to work with each of you and our colleagues to reach an agreement that serves our country and the American people,” wrote the lawmakers.

The letter can be found here and below:

Dear President Biden and Speaker McCarthy:

We write to express hope that talks between the White House and Speaker’s Office concerning the debt limit will soon begin in earnest. It is time to end the partisan standoff and brinkmanship before it rattles markets, damages our economy, and hurts the American people. We need only to look back on 2011 when Congress nearly failed to raise the debt ceiling.

With the specter of a chance of default, Standard & Poor’s Global Rating downgraded the United States’ creditworthiness for the first time in history. To allow for that scenario to occur once again would be an abject failure. The American people would rightfully hold us all – both the Congress and the White House – accountable. It is time to engage in good faith negotiation that would lead to a resolution and prevent a replay of the 2011 standoff.

Failure to raise the debt limit would prevent the federal government from meeting its legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, and tax refunds. Moreover, economists estimate that a debt limit breach would put an immediate halt to ten percent of our nation’s economic activity, result in the loss of millions of jobs, significantly raise interest rates on homes, cars, and credit cards, wreak havoc on global markets, and devalue the dollar around the world. To default on our debt – or, as occurred in 2011, simply flirting with default – would cause harm to our economy and damage the lives of the people we represent. With this reality, we call on both the President and the Speaker to engage in genuine talks offering real proposals that will result in an agreement to lift the debt limit. We stand ready to work with each of you and our colleagues to reach an agreement that serves our country and the American people.