‘Return To Vital Business,’ Nadler Urges Congress

It’s still unclear whether Congress and President Obama will reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling before the U.S. defaults on August 2, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler wants to try and get that ball rolling.

Yesterday, Nadler called on his colleagues in the House of Representatives to take “a simple vote on increasing the debt limit.” From the floor he declared that, rather than continuing in their battle over the budget, Congress should be tackling the country’s economic problems- namely employment, as well as conducting normal day-to-day business.

The Congressman also remarked that the House Republicans’ proposal to cut spending was a potential danger to the economy.

Rep. Nadler instead supports a plan proposed by Senate Democrats.

From Nadler’s press release:

“Mr. Speaker, this country is in the middle of a great crisis,” said Nadler.  “Entirely an artificial crisis, created by the attempt of one political party to blackmail the entire country into adopting its program of destroying Medicare and Social Security and food stamps and unemployment and all the things that many of our people depend on…. [W]e should raise the debt ceiling to recognize the debts that are already incurred, and we should do it cleanly so as to not throw the economy into a tail spin.”

What are your opinions on the debt ceiling? Do you think Congress and the president will reach a compromise? If the U.S. does default on its debt, how do you think your every day life will be affected?

Rep. Jerrold Nadler represents New York’s 8th Congressional District. It includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District and Battery Park City.  In Brooklyn, the 8th District includes parts of Borough Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Seagate.