McCarthy’s Reckless Default Threat Poses Increasing Danger to Seniors, Veterans, Children

As Default Deadline Looms, MAGA House Must Pass Clean Bill Preventing Catastrophe

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Biden will meet with House Speaker McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Jeffries (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) to discuss the urgent need to prevent the impending default crisis. The meeting comes less than one month before the date that Treasury Secretary Yellen has warned the U.S. could potentially default on the national debt, which would have devastating implications for the national and global economies.

Naveed Shah, Courage for America spokesperson and political director for Common Defense, issued the following statement in response:

“Speaker McCarthy and his fellow MAGA House members have catapulted the nation to the brink of a devastating default in order to ram through dangerous and deeply unpopular cuts to essential programs that seniors, veterans, and children rely on. From slashing millions of medical visits for returning service members to ending food assistance to the elderly, the MAGA default bill will hurt individuals and communities across the country. The way to address our deficit is to pass a clean bill preventing default now and then taking steps like ending taxpayer-funded giveaways to the wealthy and corporations that ship American jobs overseas — not threatening seniors, veterans and children.”

Courage for America has been a consistent leader in the fight to hold MAGA Republicans accountable for using the default crisis as an excuse to cut Americans’ benefits. In the last two weeks, the campaign held a press call with Rep. Gallego and Arizona veterans condemning the MAGA default bill’s cuts to veterans’ benefits, launched ads in eight Republican-held districts slamming the bill for cutting law enforcement funding, and held another press call with Officer Michael Fanone and Sheriff Mark Brave condemning cuts to law enforcement funding. Last month, the campaign ran a successful 20-day cross-country bus tour ahead of the release of McCarthy’s default bill, calling on House Republicans to promise their constituents they will not cut essential programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP.

Facts About McCarthy’s MAGA Default On America Act:

Threatens 22% cuts to education, veterans’ health care, child care, and opioids treatment.
Endangers public safety, cutting funding for over 2,000 Customs and Border Protection Agents, 11,000 FBI personnel, and hundreds of local law enforcement positions.
Makes traveling harder and less safe, shutting down 125 air traffic control towers, increasing airport security wait times and slashing rail safety inspections.
Hurts our children’s education, eliminating Pell Grants for 80,000 students and causing 300,000 kids to lose access to Head Start and child care.
Sends good-paying American manufacturing jobs overseas by repealing clean energy investments from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Cuts Medicaid for 2 million people, catering to MAGA extremist Rep. Matt Gaetz’s demands to make even harsher Medicaid cuts.
Evicts hundreds of thousands of families, older adults, veterans and people with disabilities from Section 8 housing and cuts rental assistance.
Takes away food assistance from more than one million seniors and 1.2 million women, babies, and children.
Takes away health care access for 2 million people via community health centers, disproportionately impacting rural areas.

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