Says Congress has responsibility to meet country's financial obligations
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said she would vote for a so-called "clean" increase to the nation's debt ceiling when it comes up for a vote tonight. Without an increase to the debt limit, the United States would default on its debt, creating serious problems in world financial markets.
"Congress has manufactured enough fiscal crises in the last year and we don't need another one. Defaulting on the debt is bad for the economy and bad for working families. It would likely drive up rates on credit cards and mortgages and cost the economy jobs," Pingree said.
This morning, House Republicans announced that they would not support an increase in the debt ceiling and that Democrats would be primarily responsible for coming up with the votes in the House to pass it.
"The Republicans said they don't want to pass what they the President's debt limit," Pingree said. "I've got news for them—the debt ceiling represents the full faith and credit of the United States. It isn't about additional spending, it's about paying the bills for spending that's already happened and it's absolutely irresponsible to play politics with it."
