Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz Responds to GOP Leader’s Statement on Potential U.S. Default

By DNC Press

In response to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, the head of the national Republican Party, saying on ABC’s Topline today that the August 2nd debt limit deadline is “not the end of the world,” DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:

“Chairman Priebus is not the first Republican to suggest that it would be fine for the U.S. to default on its obligations and fail to raise the debt limit, but as the head of the Republican Party his comment that doing so is ‘not the end of the world’ is among the most irresponsible. Never before has the United States defaulted on our obligations and economists agree that going into default would have catastrophic consequences for our economic recovery and repercussions in financial markets across the globe. If we were to default on our obligations our economy could crater and significant pain and hardship would fall on our nation’s most vulnerable citizens including seniors, the poor, the middle class and young people.

This sort of reckless rhetoric is detrimental to the efforts of President Obama and Congressional leaders to find a responsible solution to getting our fiscal house in order in a balanced way and meeting our nation’s obligation to pay its bills. Instead of playing politics and risking default to appeal to the most extreme elements of their base, Republicans should use this opportunity to reach a meaningful compromise to put our country on firmer financial footing.”