Pascrell Votes to Let America Pay Its Bills and Hammers Republican Attempts to Start a Depression

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today voted with House Democrats to raise the federal debt ceiling so that the United States can pay its bills. The House voted to raise the debt ceiling by a tally of 219-to-212.

“Great nations adhere to their obligations and pay their bills,” said Rep. Pascrell. “Once again, Democrats have acted swiftly to do our duty as public servants. If we fail to raise the debt ceiling, the effects will be cataclysmic. So we should be crystal clear what is happening right now. Virtually every Republican in Congress has united to destroy the American economy and plunge the entire country into a depression because the President is a Democrat. And Republicans are doing this while we try to pay off the decades of debts Republicans themselves ran up. There is nothing, literally nothing, Republicans will not fashion into a political mace to bludgeon America. Only one political party today is fit to govern.

“Time is short. There is no option except to raise the debt ceiling. If Republicans won’t act responsibly, Democrats will. I would add: if the choice comes down to preserving a parliamentary Senate gimmick or tossing America into depression, that is not a difficult choice.”