July 4th Holiday Canceled For Congress, Debt Ceiling Work To Be Done

It has often been the complaint of many Americans that the men and women of the United States Congress do not work hard enough and do not focus on the issues that matter the most to the citizens of the nation and the well being of the state as a whole. At times, the critique has been accurate. However, as of Thursday, it seems that the work ethic of Congress is moving in a positive direction.

Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader from Nevada, announced on Thursday that there is not going to be a week of vacation in celebration of the Fourth of July as a result of Congress needing to solve the debt ceiling crisis.

Reid said of his big decision, “The work we’re doing to cut the deficits and create jobs is too important, the obstacles too steep, and the time too short to waste even a moment. There’s still so much to do to put Americans back to work and cut our deficits.”

This is music to the ears of President Obama. Obama wanted the men and women of Congress to not take the scheduled vacation during the economic crisis. Reid answered by saying the Senate is only going to take Monday off and not the whole week.

Congress has until August 2^nd, just over a month, to work a deal to get the legal limit for government borrowing to increase from 14.3 trillion dollars.

Republicans want to bring on big spending cuts in addition to raising the debt ceiling. Democrats want to increase revenue throughout the state, but Republicans are not showing any interest in backing any measure that would increase spending.

Reid suggests that if the debt ceiling is not raised soon, then the economy would be in a “full fledged depression.”

Democrats and Republicans have been hard at work discussing all of the options available to them the past few weeks.

The time is now for the men and women of the United States Congress. By the time they come back from the Fourth of July holiday, there will be less than a month until the deadline to come to a resolution.

It is difficult to say what would happen if they do not reach a deal. Experts can make speculations, but since we have nothing else to compare it to in American history, what would happen on August 3^rd if no deal were reached is a mystery most do not want to discover.