Dallas City Wire

WASHINGTON – In the face of a looming default as a result of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's refusal to raise the debt ceiling without devastating budget cuts to critical federal programs, House Democrats filed a discharge petition to bring a clean bill raising the debt ceiling to the floor. This bill would force House Republicans to vote for or against a default on America's debts and the resulting recession such a default would likely create.

"This petition is an extraordinary action to address the extraordinarily disastrous position Speaker McCarthy has put our country in," said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30). "By using the debt ceiling as a ticking time bomb hanging over the heads of the American people, Republicans are threatening to send our country into a full recession if they don’t get to check off every box on their extreme conservative wishlist. Republicans are treating this debt ceiling negotiation as a hostage situation – with the American people as the hostages. In response, House Democrats are taking action to bring a clean bill raising the debt ceiling to the floor and end this game of high-stakes political chicken.

“My constituents back in Dallas know that if they don’t pay their bills, the lights go off. It’s as simple as that – the electric company isn’t going to negotiate. The same goes for America’s creditors. The impacts of a debt default would be catastrophic, effectively doubling our unemployment rate, threatening the Social Security payments of millions of Americans, and hiking the average mortgage in my district by $100,000 – in the middle of a housing crisis. If Speaker McCarthy won’t stop playing politics with our nation’s finances, then I hope some members of his Caucus will do the right thing and end this game right now. With this vote to raise the debt ceiling, we’re giving House Republicans a choice: your Speaker or your Constituents. For me, that choice is easy.”

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Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett represents portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, with the cities of Dallas, Grand Prairie, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Duncanville, Glenn Heights, Hutchins, Wilmer, Arlington, Ovilla, and Seagoville.

Original source can be found here.