Republicans are blocking Democratic efforts to address the debt limit 

Defaulting the debt ceiling would have devastating impacts on North Carolina seniors who rely on Social Security for retirement

Yesterday, President Biden delivered remarks outlining what is at stake for North Carolina and the country if Republicans continue to block Democratic efforts to address the debt limit and avoid economic catastrophe. 

Raising the debt limit is a historically bipartisan responsibility. When Donald Trump was President, Republicans in Congress raised the debt limit three times – each with Democratic support. But now Republicans won’t raise the debt limit – even though they are responsible for it. Congressional Republicans and the previous Administration racked up nearly $8 trillion in debt – nearly a quarter of all the debt – in part to give the wealthiest Americans a tax giveaway.

“Millions of North Carolina seniors have worked their whole lives to receive Social Security benefits. Republicans, including Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, are toying with our seniors’ lives by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, filibustering and throwing up roadblocks to prevent Democrats from saving the economy from a catastrophic event. It’s a deplorable display of hypocrisy that’s unnecessarily causing uncertainty for North Carolina seniors’ savings and pocketbooks that could be directly impacted as soon as this week,” said NCDP Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty. 

If Republicans continue to stand in the way of meeting our obligation to respect the full faith and credit of the United States, our country will face dire consequences like:

• Plunging our economy into a recession and losing jobs
• Causing interest rates to go up, raising mortgage and car payments for working families
• Risking Social Security benefits for seniors and shirking retirement savings
• Jeopardizing salaries for servicemembers and benefits for veterans

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