Press Staff Blog

Wanted to be sure you saw the Washington Post article highlighting the uncertainty felt by the business community as Republicans continue to hold our economy hostage.

Yet another poll is out showing that Americans support a balanced agreement to pay our bills and reduce the deficit. This one’s particularly significant, having been taken last night after the President and the Speaker laid out their respective positions. Unfortunately for Speaker Boehner, his short-term, kick the can down the road plan didn’t fare so well:

‘“It does seem to be that the popular narrative is falling on the side of the president on this one,’ Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said.”

Republicans are holding our economy hostage to their ideological agenda, putting our nation at risk of default just a week from today. Default would have a real impact on middle class families, and at a time when our economy is still recovering, American families can’t afford to pay the price. Take a look at the numbers:

Over $1,000: Increase in mortgage payments for the average family

As Republicans continue to argue for a short-term compromise, which would not give our economy certainty and hurt job creation, business leaders are calling on Congress to quickly take action and compromise so that we pay our nation’s bills and avoid the catastrophic consequences of default:

Wanted to make sure you all saw this AP story where Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said that when it comes to the Boehner plan, he is confident "that as of this morning there are not 218 Republicans in support of this plan."

We already know that Speaker Boehner has offered a short-term debt limit plan that would return our country to a state of imminent default within months, subjecting our economy to high levels of uncertainty. Now, CNN has reported that passing the Boehner plan would likely lead the rating agencies to downgrade America’s AAA credit—a step that would destroy jobs by dramatically raising interest rates for millions of Americans.

Wanted to pass along this handy list from National Journal summarizing the consequences of failing to ensure we pay our nation’s bills. These are costs Americans can’t afford. We hope Republicans will take note and work with us on a long-term, balanced compromise that would reduce the deficit and ensure we pay our nation’s bills.

National Journal

Six Costs of Not Raising the Debt Ceiling

By Julia Edwards

Polls show overwhelming support for a balanced plan to reduce our deficit and pay our bills—even among Republicans. House Republicans standing in the way of a compromise and pushing our country toward default are far to the right of most Americans.