Congress Must Pay Its Bills, Honor Commitment to all Americans

Two weeks from default, head of nation's largest federal union urges clean debt ceiling vote

News provided by

American Federation of Government Employees

Oct 20, 2015, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress must honor its commitment to all Americans by raising the debt ceiling so government programs continue operating as scheduled, the head of the largest federal employee union said today.

"A vote to raise the debt ceiling isn't a vote to increase our debt. It's about paying the bills that Congress has already approved," American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. said. "Every American is expected to pay his or her bills on time. Congress needs to do the same thing."

With two weeks until the government defaults on its debt, the head of the largest federal employee union is calling on Congress to raise the debt ceiling. Failing to raise the debt ceiling by Nov. 3 could leave the government without enough money to pay Social Security recipients or military and civilian government employees, says American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. AFGE is the nation's largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 federal and D.C. government workers.

The government will default on its debts if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by Nov. 3, which is two weeks away.

Failing to raise the debt ceiling could leave the government without enough money to pay Social Security recipients or military and civilian government employees.

"Congress must honor its financial obligations and lift the debt ceiling so the federal government can pay all of its bills on time," Cox said.

Cox also rejected a House proposal that would keep the debt ceiling in place but allow the Treasury to borrow funds for certain limited functions.

"Forcing the Treasury to pick and choose which bills to pay is a horrible way to run the government and would set a terrible precedent," Cox said. "The House needs to stop playing politics with the government's programs and services and pass a bill to raise the debt ceiling at once."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees