U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) is among the lawmakers in Washington advocating legislation to avoid debt default by removing the United States Treasury borrowing limit.
In a recent release, Hirono highlighted the legislation that fellow Hawaii Democrat Sen. Brian Schatz is leading, stating the government has weaponized the debt for its own agendas.
“The U.S. government has an obligation to pay its bills. Using the debt ceiling as political leverage is reckless and irresponsible,” Hirono said in the release. “For too long, the debt ceiling has been weaponized in attempts to advance ideological agendas, endangering the health of our economy and the full faith and credit of the United States. That’s why I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing legislation to eliminate the debt limit so we can avoid default.”
Over the years, establishing a debt ceiling in Washington has morphed into a game of political football as the two parties battle to gain greater control and enact their agendas while threats of defaulting on the government’s obligation to pay its bills fill the air. According to the release, a default would be catastrophic, likely triggering a recession that would disrupt military pay, Social Security and Medicare payments and Treasury bond yields.
The U.S. is one of only two democratic countries to maintain a debt ceiling. Over the last six decades, Congress has moved to raise the established limit at least 75 times, including in 2011 when stalled talks led credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the U.S. government’s credit rating for the first time in history.
Along with Hirono and Schatz, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Tina Smith (D-MN).