Johnston Reporter

On April 26, 2023, House Republicans advanced a partisan proposal to raise the debt ceiling that’ll leave working families and veterans in North Carolina’s 13th District behind. The Republican bill includes 22% cuts on non-defense programs: an unserious proposal and non-starter for Representative Nickel.

Republicans' use of the debit limit as a bargaining chip despite the catastrophic impact of defaulting on the debt to working families across the country is irresponsible. According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, if the Republican plan becomes law it could:

• Slash education funding for the 143,000 K-12 students in NC-13.
• Cut funding for Veterans Affairs health benefits for NC-13’s 44,000 veterans, causing delayed care and worse health outcomes.
• Jeopardize the 17,000 families in NC-13 living below the poverty level with cuts to critical safety net programs. 
• Threaten housing access for 35,000 households in NC-13 that spend more than 30% of their income on rent. 
• Roll back investments in the Triangle area’s new, innovative green technologies that support good paying jobs for NC-13 families. 
• Cut 120 Rail safety inspections in North Carolina.
• Eliminate 8,000 preschool and child care slots in North Carolina.

If Republicans follow through on their threat to default on our nation’s bills, the impact would be catastrophic for NC-13. Default could:

• Kill about 7,400 jobs in NC-13 alone. Nationwide, a default could kill more than 7 million jobs.
• Jeopardize Social Security payments for 80,000 families in NC-13.
• Put health benefits at risk for 234,000 people in NC-13 who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or VA health coverage.
• Increase lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in North Carolina by $54,000.
• Raise the costs of a new car loan for the typical American by $800.
• Threaten the retirement savings of 97,000 people near retirement in NC-13, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.

“The bipartisan debt ceiling framework proposed by the Problem Solvers Caucus includes steps to avoid defaulting on the national debt, advance a sustainable budget, and address the nation’s long-term fiscal stability,” said Rep. Nickel. “We can reduce the deficit without sacrificing the programs that working families in NC-13 benefit from, and we can do it with support from both sides of the aisle. I support fiscal responsibility, but this partisan Republican plan is anything but responsible.”

Original source can be found here.