The U.S. Senate’s inability to find a more permanent solution to modifying the nation’s debt limit creates further unnecessary uncertainty for the nation’s economy and illustrates how the Senate’s inability to get things done is hurting the country, Rep. Greg Stanton said today.
“Temporarily avoiding economic catastrophe is low bar and should not be celebrated as a real accomplishment,” Stanton said. “This rolling, manufactured crisis continues to hurt American consumers, risking America’s full faith and credit and putting our national economy at serious risk.”
He continued: “The Senate minority’s willingness to meet the most basic obligations to the American economy depends on which political party is in the White House. And yet, the majority enables this behavior by preserving the filibuster, which only allows for further dysfunction. The American people deserve far better than what they’re getting from the United States Senate.”
Today’s House vote would approve a temporary delay of the debt limit crisis—kicking the can down the road until approximately mid-December or early January and requiring further congressional action. Senate Republican leadership has signaled an unwillingness to provide the necessary votes to overcome the filibuster and raise the limit again, setting up another potential showdown and corresponding market turmoil.
The United States has never defaulted on its obligations to pay its accrued debt—nearly $8 trillion of which was accrued under President Donald Trump. Not paying the government’s bills would diminish the full faith and credit of the United States, throw global markets into turmoil, plunge the country into a recession and threaten the economic security of millions of Americans at a time when the country is just beginning to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.
The White House Council of Economic Advisors warns that “a default would fundamentally hinder the Federal government from serving the American people,” and it could take decades for the country to recover. Tens of millions of people could lose the regular Federal payments that help them to make ends meet, such as Social Security and Medicaid, overnight. The basic functions of the Federal government—including maintaining national defense and the public health system—would be hindered.
But right now, markets and consumers are being hurt by the ongoing threat of a default.
Economists are warning that just the uncertainty during this extended standoff can impact borrowing terms and borrowing availability, and that lenders may start tightening their standards in advance to reduce their risk—which could cause a cascading financial crisis on its own. As seen in the run-up to and aftermath of the 2011 debt ceiling crisis (where the country ultimately avoided a default), market risk measures rose persistently, and measures of consumer confidence and small business optimism weakened. Rates for mortgages, auto and personal loans, and other consumer financial products all rose.
In 2011, after a prolonged debt ceiling crisis similar to the current one, Standard & Poor’s removed the United States government from its list of risk-free borrowers for the first time, explaining: “The downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenge.”
The crisis comes with a heavy burden on taxpayers as well. A Government Accountability Office report found that, “Delays in raising the debt limit can create uncertainty in the Treasury market and lead to higher Treasury borrowing costs. GAO estimated that delays in raising the debt limit in 2011 led to an increase in Treasury’s borrowing costs of about $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011.”