Bingaman Lumps Social Security in With Everything

Jeff Bingaman

We looked over Senator Jeff Bingaman's website and found these comments which lump social security in with all other expenditures:
"President Obama is working very hard to make sure the debt ceiling is raised so that Social Security checks are disbursed on time. The president recently said that, without raising the debt ceiling, he could not guarantee that Social Security checks would go out on August 3. Without an agreement in place by August 3 to raise the debt ceiling, the nation's financial obligations would outstrip the nation's incoming revenue, and we would not be able to meet our financial obligations. In August alone, we would face a $134 billion shortfall.

The president would have to choose which financial obligations to pay, deciding between paying the interest on U.S. Treasury bonds or benefits for our seniors, paying troops or providing veterans benefits, disbursing student loans or providing loans to small businesses to make payroll, and many other difficult choices between obligations. Not paying all of our bills could hurt the United States' credit rating, just like what would happen to a person's credit rating if he paid his mortgage but not his car payment. Not paying all of our bills could be equivalent to defaulting on our debts. Picking and choosing which bills to pay is not a realistic option." Go to Bingaman website here: News New Mexico