ProsperUS Condemns House Republicans’ Dangerous Debt Limit Threat
Claire Guzdar, spokesperson for the ProsperUS coalition, released the below statement following news of the House Republicans’ developing proposal on the debt limit:
“The House Republican majority's latest proposal is a complete non-starter. We have already lived through the economic devastation of deep cuts like those proposed here. Sequestration led to lower economic growth, higher unemployment rates, and poor economic outcomes for workers and families.
“Enough is enough. Congress must raise the debt limit without conditions or risk economic catastrophe.”
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As Republicans threaten to hold the debt ceiling hostage in their attempts to force painful and unnecessary cuts to important public investments, it is useful to look back to the last time Congress gave in to deficit fear-mongering.
The 2011 Budget Control Act – a bill negotiated by lawmakers in the aftermath of a debt ceiling stalemate – mandated $2.1 trillion in cuts over a decade through a process known as sequestration.
While Congress took some steps in later years to mitigate these reductions, these cuts still had devastating impacts on people's lives and well-being, undermined our economy, and left us ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuts to critical public investments as a part of the 2011 debt ceiling deal slowed our recovery from the Great Recession and stymied economic growth.
People felt the impacts of sequestration far and wide. Low-income families, seniors, veterans, and many others endured painful cuts to the programs they needed most.
