U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) led a group of freshman members of Congress in Washington today in a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy, calling on him to keep the U.S. House of Representatives in session until a bipartisan agreement can be reached on a national debt limit, according to a press release.
In December 2021, the national debt limit was raised by $2.5 trillion to the current debt limit of $31.4 trillion. This limit was reached in January. In April, Speaker McCarthy proposed increasing the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, linked with spending cuts. A deal has yet to be reached.
Rep. Pettersen and 18 other U.S. Representatives who signed the letter pointed to warning signs of economic trouble presented by the impasse, such as stock market volatility and concerns about the nation’s bond rating being permanently downgraded.
The letter also warns of dire consequences for American citizens and business owners if a bipartisan agreement cannot be reached before the June 1 deadline. From that date, the U.S. government will be in breach of the debt ceiling which will trigger fiscal fallout across all sectors of the economy.
“If Congress fails to act, millions of hard-working Americans will be out of jobs,” the members wrote in their letter. “According to Moody’s [bond rating service], a short-term breach will lead to nearly 2 million lost jobs and an increase in the unemployment rate to nearly 5 percent from its current level of 3.5 percent.”
Further, failure to reach agreement on the debt ceiling could result in increased interest rates, reducing small business’s and individuals access to capital and credit, and “Social Security benefits could be delayed or reduced, leading to household financial crisis for millions of seniors,” the letter states.
The lawmakers end their plea to Speaker McCarthy writing, “We urge you to keep the House in session every day until Congress does its job and passes a bipartisan debt limit agreement.“:
The link to the letter can be found here.
The following freshman representatives joined Rep. Pettersen in signing the letter:
- US Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL)
- US Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13)
- US Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30)
- US Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17)
- US Rep. Daniel Goldman (NY-10)
- US Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL-10)
- US Rep. Robert Garcia (CA-42)
- US Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL-01)
- US Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-01)
- US Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02)
- US Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03)
- US Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15)
- US Rep. Wiley Nickel (NC-13)
- US Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
- US Rep. Hillary Scholten (MI-03)
- US Rep. Eric Sorensen (IL-17)
- US Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13).
