Hawaiʻi senators comment on vote to avoid debt default
US senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) voted on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid debt default.
Sen. Schatz said he voted for the deal to avoid “catastrophic default,” saying “it should have never come to this.”
“We have to repeal the debt ceiling. This is not the way to run the country, and this should never happen again,” he said.
In April, Schatz reintroduced legislation to avoid default by repealing the national debt ceiling, an limit set by Congress on the amount of funding that the United States Treasury may borrow.
Sen. Hirono, also issued a statement following the vote:
“Today, I voted to avoid a default on the national debt, which would have been catastrophic for our country, the global economy and families across Hawaiʻi. While I appreciate President Biden rejecting Republicans’ most extreme demands and preventing default, certain provisions in this bill take our country in the wrong direction, including those that increase work requirements for federal assistance and permit the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” she said.
Sen. Hirono said, now that the county has avoided default, it needs to take the threat off the table moving forward.
She said, whether through legislative action, clarification of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, or another path, eliminating the debt limit is critical in order to prevent these crises moving forward.
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