Today, State Representative Wesley Harris (Mecklenburg), a Ph.D. economist, NCDP Chair Bobbie Richardson and Mebane City Councilman Sean Ewing, an Air Force veteran who served for 15 years held a virtual press conference calling out Republican lawmakers and U.S. Senate candidates for playing games with the debt ceiling, which will jeopardize the economy and delay pay for North Carolina troops. 

While Republicans proved they’re willing to play with fire with our nation’s economy by averting a crisis temporarily yesterday, the fate of North Carolina’s servicemembers and veterans’ benefits remains uncertain after December despite Democrats’ efforts to reach a bipartisan agreement to avoid a default on our country’s debt.

Click here to view the full event.

“Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Senate candidate Representative Ted Budd, are threatening North Carolina’s veteran and military families’ benefits through their continued refusal to fully raise the debt ceiling — putting their hypocrisy on full display along the way,” said NCDP Chair Bobbie Richardson.

“Uncertainty is the cancer for the economy. It is the sand in the gears of a functioning economy…Do not play games with the full faith and credit of the United States government — we are all going to lose if you do,” said Ph.D. economist and State Representative Wesley Harris. 

“Over the next two months, North Carolina’s military members, veterans and their families are going to continue living in uncertainty not knowing if they’ll receive their salaries or their veterans disabilities claims after December. Republicans are playing politics with people’s lives – especially those who have given us so much. It’s wrong, immoral and unpatriotic,” said Mebane City Councilman and Air Force veteran Sean Ewing. 

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