VIDEO: Hirono Condemns GOP for Holding U.S. Economy Hostage Over Debt Limit, Joins Colleagues in Calling on Republicans to Put Forward a Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in a press conference calling on Republicans to show the American people their plan to end the threat of a first-ever default on the national debt.  

“The Trump administration added to the debt with the massive tax breaks that they gave to the richest people and corporations in our country,” said Senator Hirono during the press conference. “But now, we have a bunch of MAGA Republicans in the House who have decided that they should fool around with the idea of paying our debts because they have an agenda.”

“Their agenda is to cut government services but they don’t tell us what they want to slash,” continued Senator Hirono. “Do they want to slash Medicare? Social Security? Programs that we all have been paying into for all of our working lives? They don’t tell us that. But they think it’s okay to hold our government hostage over whether or not we are going to pay our bills.”

Since 1960, Congress has acted 78 different times to raise or suspend the debt limit in a bipartisan way. During the Trump Administration, Congressional Democrats worked with Republicans to suspend or raise the debt limit on three separate occasions. Recently, however, House Republicans have threatened to use the debt limit as a political tool, threatening a default that would be disastrous to the global economy and families in Hawaii and across the country.

A full transcript of Senator Hirono’s remarks is below and a link to download video is available here.

Aloha, everybody. You’ve heard all of us say ‘We pay our bills.’ What is so hard to understand about how all of us need to pay our bills? That is why we keep saying when we raise the debt ceiling, we are paying our bills and we did this in a bipartisan way, even during the Trump years which by the way, the Trump administration added to the debt with the massive tax breaks that they gave to the richest people and corporations in our country.

But now, we have a bunch of MAGA Republicans in the House who have decided that they should fool around with the idea of paying our debts because they have an agenda and what is their agenda? Their agenda is to cut government services but they don’t tell us what they want to slash.

Do they want to slash Medicare? Social Security? Programs that we all have been paying into for all of our working lives? They don’t tell us that. But they think it’s okay to hold our government hostage over whether or not we are going to pay our bills.

Enough of this nonsense. Enough of this games playing. It is time for us to take responsibility, which you know even during the Trump years, the Republicans managed to do. But suddenly, it’s all up in the air. Stop this nonsense. Pay our bills. Don’t hold our country hostage.

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