Larson Opposes Republicans’ Coverup for Their Plans to Cut Social Security

Washington, D.C. - Today, during the Ways and Means Committee markup of misguided legislation that would "prioritize" America's debt in the event of a Republican-led default, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) spoke out against this plan that would pay China before Americans like our nation's veterans and children.

You can watch Rep. Larson's remarks here.

"This isn't a markup, this is a coverup," said Larson. "This is a CYA move because of how far Republicans got out on a wrongheaded decision to cut Social Security and Medicare, and now they want to assure people that that's not the case. This bill is like driving the economy off a cliff but saying it is okay because you're wearing a seatbelt.

"We do have a common enemy, as my Republican colleagues have pointed out. We're talking about China, and Republicans are proposing we prioritize China over our nation's children. A third of the children in my district rely on Medicaid. If we were to follow this legislation, those children will be hurt at the expense of making sure China gets paid first. We better wake up. We ought to be having a serious conversation about the nation's debt and China, but also about the important programs that serve the people we are sworn to serve- and that's who's being left out, prioritized, and left behind! We cannot prioritize in a way that we place China over our children," Larson continued.

The legislation, The Default Prevention Act would "prioritize" payments, creating a small exemption to allow Treasury to issue new debt in order to pay bondholders-including those in foreign countries-and Social Security and Medicare obligations and creating a ranking system for defaulting on all other obligations. Like the versions of this bill that Democrats rejected in 2013 and 2015, the bill would be impossible to implement and does not actually protect seniors and workers with disabilities, nor does it protect our economy from the catastrophic effects of default. Republicans voted three times to raise the debt ceiling during the Trump Administration, but they have changed course and are threatening America's economy.

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