Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Today’s Cloture Vote To Allow Democrats To Raise The Debt Ceiling And Avoid A First Ever Default

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor this afternoon’s cloture vote on the House-passed message that would suspend the debt ceiling and avoid a historic default. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

In America, we have always kept a basic promise: we pay our debts on time, without exception. It’s long been a key to our economic success and our standing in the global markets across the world.

Today, it’s time for us in this chamber to do our jobs and make sure those promises remain unbroken.

In order to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States, the Senate must act and, by the end of this week, send a bill to President Biden’s desk suspending the debt ceiling and allowing our government to keep paying its bills and meeting our outstanding obligations.

Later this afternoon, the Senate will vote on cloture on the House-passed message that would suspend the debt ceiling through December of 2022.

If cloture is invoked, the Senate will then vote to pass this bill on a simple majority basis.

Democrats have been clear from the start. We are going to do the responsible thing and vote to allow the U.S. to keep paying its bills. Every single one of us is going to vote for cloture this afternoon.

For months, Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have insisted they want a solution to the debt ceiling, but only if Democrats do all the work by themselves.

We’ve already presented Republicans with numerous opportunities to do what they say they want—including by offering a simple majority vote so Democrats can suspend the debt ceiling on our own as Republicans have asked—but each time Republicans have chosen obstruction and kept us, unfortunately, on a path to default.

Republican obstruction on the debt ceiling over the last few weeks has been reckless. It’s been irresponsible. But nonetheless, today Republicans will have an opportunity to get exactly what they kept asking for.

The easiest option is this: Republicans can simply get out of the way and we can agree to skip the filibuster vote so we can proceed to final passage of this bill.

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