{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=f8da24c0-bc26-432c-b50f-0c549465de12", "Thune, Hatch, Enzi, others denounce the president\u2019s irresponsible rhetoric on default", "2013-10-09", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Michael Enzi", "E000285", "www.enzi.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., joined Senators John Thune, R-S.D., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, along with all their Republican colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee in sending a letter to President Obama denouncing the president\u2019s rhetoric during a recent media blitz suggesting that Republicans in Congress want the country to default on the debt. In an interview last week with CNBC\u2019s John Hardwood, the president stated that he recently told representatives from the financial sector visiting Washington that \u201cthey should be concerned\u201d over a faction of Congress that is \u201cwilling potentially to default.\u201d The president\u2019s senior advisors have continued the rhetoric over the past several days.\r\nThe senators write: \u201cWe are writing to express our concern that such comments are unproductive and misguided.\u00a0Any statements by you or other senior administration officials \u2013 whether to Wall Street or Main Street \u2013 that express the belief that America will default on its debt are not only misleading in our view, but they threaten to destabilize financial markets and could raise borrowing costs for families and small businesses.\u201d\r\nJoining Enzi, Thune and Hatch in their letter were Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.).\r\nThe text of the senators\u2019 letter is below:\r\n__\r\nOctober 9, 2013\r\nThe Honorable Barack Obama   President   The White House   1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW   Washington, DC 20500\r\nDear Mr. President:\r\nWe were greatly disappointed to hear your recent comments to CNBC\u2019s John Harwood that you believe that Republicans in Congress are willing to default on our debt obligations by not raising the statutory debt limit.\u00a0 Specifically, you stated that you recently told representatives from the financial sector visiting Washington that \u201cthey should be concerned\u201d over a faction of Congress that is \u201cwilling potentially to default.\u201d\r\nWe are writing to express our concern that such comments are unproductive and misguided.\u00a0 Any statements by you or other senior administration officials \u2013 whether to Wall Street or Main Street \u2013 that express the belief that America will default on its debt are not only misleading in our view, but they threaten to destabilize financial markets and could raise borrowing costs for families and small businesses.\r\nThe assertion that Congressional Republicans are willing to default on our debt could not be further from the truth.\u00a0 Speaker Boehner and other House Republican leaders have stated repeatedly that America cannot and will not default on its debt obligations.\u00a0 As Senate Republicans, we affirm this view.\u00a0 Any talk of default is counterproductive.\u00a0 It creates greater uncertainty and drives policymakers further away from reaching a bipartisan, common-sense agreement.\u00a0 While some may perceive talk of default as just poorly timed political rhetoric, it is possible that our financial markets could continue to take such comments at face value.\u00a0 As you know, this could have negative consequences on millions of families who have made prudent investments and could impact America\u2019s ability to finance its debt at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers.\u00a0\r\nRather than stoking fears that could destabilize financial markets and hurt investors, we believe now is the time to make a significant down payment on addressing America\u2019s long-term debt problems.\u00a0 Debt held by the public has increased by 90 percent over the past four and a half years and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future.\u00a0 As Congress and the executive branch have routinely done in the past, now is the time to work together on solutions that reduce our deficits and move our economy forward.\u00a0\r\nWe agree with your other statements last week that we should focus on \u201ccreating jobs, encouraging growth, [and] dealing with our long-term debt issues.\u201d\u00a0 We stand ready to work with you to find reasonable measures that begin to address America\u2019s long-term fiscal imbalance as part of a solution to the current impasse.\u00a0\r\nSincerely,\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=f8da24c0-bc26-432c-b50f-0c549465de12"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8545109778642654, "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"}