{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2023/4/rep-sewell-calls-on-congress-to-reject-republican-debt-ceiling-demands-and-avoid-catastrophic-default", "Rep. Sewell Calls on Congress to Reject Republican Debt Ceiling Demands and Avoid Catastrophic Default", "2023-04-26", "2023", "2023-04", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined nearly 200 of her colleagues from across the House Democratic Caucus in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy calling on Republicans to uphold their obligation to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by lifting the debt ceiling \u201cwithout any extraneous policies attached.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a sad day when House Republicans shamefully hold our economy hostage and threaten to default on our debt unless Congress makes deep cuts to programs that Alabamians rely on,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cWe in Congress should never play politics with the full faith and credit of the United States of America. Republicans must join us to raise the debt ceiling\u2014just as they did three times under the previous administration\u2014and avoid economic collapse.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a strong believer in balancing our budget,\u201d continued Sewell. \u201cDespite Republicans\u2019 2017 tax giveaway to the wealthy\u2014which added $2 trillion to our deficit\u2014I am proud of the historic deficit reduction that we have achieved under President Biden. If Republicans want to address our national debt, they should start by making the wealthy pay their fair share instead of targeting veteran benefits, food assistance, and other programs that hard working Alabama families rely on.\u201d\n\nIf agreed to, Speaker McCarthy\u2019s debt ceiling demands would have devastating consequences for Alabama families. According to a report by the House Budget Committee Minority, House Republicans' debt ceiling proposal would:\n\nThreaten access to food assistance for 17,000 people aged 50-55 in Alabama.\n\nEliminate preschool and child care for at least 5,600 children in Alabama.\n\nIncrease housing costs for at least 8,800 people in Alabama.\n\nMake college more expensive for at least 98,900 students in Alabama.\n\nEliminate at least 3 air traffic control towers in Alabama.\n\nCut at least 150 rail safety inspection days in Alabama.\n\nRepeal investments in cleaner, cheaper energy \u2014 threatening at least 1,280 clean energy and manufacturing jobs announced in Alabama since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.\n\nIf Republicans do not get their way, and instead choose to cause an unprecedented credit default, they would unleash global economic catastrophe and put vital government services at risk. According to the report, a default would:\n\nKill about 6,000 jobs in Alabama\u2019s 7th District alone. Nationwide, a default could kill more than 7 million jobs.\n\nJeopardize Social Security payments for 101,000 families in Alabama\u2019s 7th District.\n\nPut health benefits at risk for 306,000 people in Alabama\u2019s 7th District who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health coverage.\n\nIncrease lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in Alabama by $43,000.\n\nRaise the costs of a new car loan for the typical American by $800.\n\nThreaten the retirement savings of 91,400 people near retirement in Alabama\u2019s 7th District, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.\n\nRep. Sewell and her Democratic colleagues made clear that while they welcome debate on spending and economic responsibility, negotiations over spending must be distinct from the threat of economic default, and any cuts to Social Security and Medicare are off the table.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:44:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2023/4/rep-sewell-calls-on-congress-to-reject-republican-debt-ceiling-demands-and-avoid-catastrophic-default"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0308083146810532, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}