Summer Lee Slams Republicans Ahead of Voting NO on Default on America Act, Proposal to Crash Economy if Democrats Don’t Cut Medicaid, Food Stamps, Pell Grants, Student Loan Forgiveness 

(Washington, DC) – Summer Lee (D-PA) released the following statement before voting NO (est. time 4:30 pm) on House Republicans Default on America Act, a proposal to crash the U.S. Economy unless Democrats agree to put 519,000 Pennsylvanians at risk of losing Medicaid coverage in Pennsylvania, threaten access to food assistance for 40,000 Pennsylvanians, eliminate preschool and child care for at least 15,500 children in Pennsylvania, increase housing costs for at least 23,800 people in Pennsylvania, make college more expensive for at least 189,200 students in Pennsylvania and cut at least 310 rail safety inspection days. 

Congresswoman Lee said, “Tonight, I will vote NO on Republicans’ scheme to crash our economy and cost hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanian’s their hard-earned Medicare, social security, veterans benefits, and retirement savings if we don’t bend to their anti-family, pro-hunger agenda. 

“Like so many people in Western PA, I went to College on a Pell Grant and am still in hundreds of dollars in student loan debt. Like so many families in the community I represent, my family and I depended on food stamps and struggled to afford the obscene cost of health care and childcare. I know firsthand the kind of mass suffering that would come with cutting ANY of these programs and I won’t stand for any of it.”

“Every Republican who votes YES tonight will vote to strip seniors, veterans, and families of their ability to live in dignity and make it even easier for billionaires to cheat on their taxes. We must hold them accountable for playing politics with our lives.”

House Republicans’ proposal’s extreme demands will devastate PA Families

• Put 519,000 people at risk of losing Medicaid coverage in Pennsylvania.
• Threaten access to food assistance for 40,000 people aged 50-55 in Pennsylvania.
• Eliminate preschool and child care for at least 15,500 children in Pennsylvania.
• Increase housing costs for at least 23,800 people in Pennsylvania.
• Make college more expensive for at least 189,200 students in Pennsylvania.
• Eliminate at least 5 air traffic control towers in Pennsylvania.
• Cut at least 310 rail safety inspection days in Pennsylvania.
• Repeal investments in cleaner, cheaper energy — threatening clean energy and manufacturing jobs.

And if Republicans don’t get their way, they’re threatening to default on our nation’s bills, unleashing economic catastrophe and putting vital government services at risk:

• Kill about 7,700 jobs in PA-12 alone. Nationwide, a default could kill more than 7 million jobs
• Jeopardize Social Security payments for 113,000 families in PA-12
• Put health benefits at risk for 283,000 people in PA-12 who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health coverage.
• Increase lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in Pennsylvania by $37,000.
• Raise the costs of a new car loan for the typical American by $800.
• Threaten the retirement savings of 102,800 people near retirement in PA-12, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.

Economists across the political spectrum have warned that defaulting on our nation’s bills would cause a devastating recession, project weakness to adversaries like Russia and China, roil financial markets worldwide, raise interest rates, and more. Across the United States, Moody’s Analytics estimates a prolonged breach would lead to:

• At least 7 million jobs lost
• Unemployment above 8%
• A 4% decline in GDP
• Roughly $10 trillion in household wealth wiped out
• GDP a full percentage point lower a decade after the crisis and 900,000 jobs never regained

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