Protect Social Security - Force a Clean Debt Ceiling Increase
Petition to Congress:
We urge you to sign on to the discharge petition to force a clean debt ceiling increase. We cannot allow vital services like Social Security payments to be interrupted.
Social Security payments could stop on June 1st if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt ceiling.
That’s when the United States will run out of money to pay its bills. Currently, Republicans are refusing to raise the debt ceiling in an attempt to force extremist cuts to federal programs and services.1
Democrats cannot give in to these far-right GOP demands. Instead, Democrats can bypass Kevin McCarthy and Marjorie Taylor Greene with a tool called a “discharge petition” that will allow them to raise the debt ceiling without cuts or interruptions to programs like Social Security.2
The United States has never defaulted on its debt, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that it would lead to "an economic and financial catastrophe.” If the United States defaults, "it is unlikely that the federal government would be able to issue payments to millions of Americans, including our military families and seniors who rely on Social Security,” she added.3
A halt in Social Security payments would be disastrous. 40% of Social Security recipients, which include Americans who are disabled and those who are widowed, receive 90% of their income from the program. That’s almost 27 million people who would be forced to go without their primary source of income.1
Despite this impending disaster, Republicans are refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless they are given massive cuts to federal programs and services. That would mean that, just for starters, 80,000 people would lose funding to attend college; 200,000 children would get kicked off Head Start; 100,000 families would lose child care; and 1.2 million people would be removed from WIC nutrition assistance.4
Democrats cannot negotiate with these GOP hostage takers. Instead, Democrats can use a discharge petition to force a vote on raising the debt ceiling, bypassing Republican obstructions. But it only works if ALL House Democrats are on board.
Sources:
- NBC, "Social Security advocates brace for U.S. debt default with payments to beneficiaries at stake,” May 13, 2023.
- New York Times, "House Democrats Move Forward With Petition to Force Debt Limit Vote,” May 17, 2023.
- CBS, "What happens to Social Security if the U.S. breaches the debt ceiling?," May 11, 2023.
- Democratic Appropriations Committee, "DeLauro Receives Biden Administration Responses Highlighting Impacts of Proposed House Republican Cuts,” March 20, 2023.