WASHINGTON D.C. – In a conference call on Wednesday, Senator Charles Schumer warned that failure to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling debate could mean many social security recipients and veterans in New York State not receiving their checks.
He explained that the government will be receiving $170 billion in revenue this August but will have approximately 80 million checks to pay totaling over $300 billion. These payments include defense funds, salaries, entitlement programs, interest payments on debt and departmental expenditures.
Schumer said that the Treasury Department will have to prioritize these payments, but no matter what there would be 40-45 percent of bills that would go unpaid. He warned that seniors and veterans were at the greatest risk and even the smallest default could result in benefit checks being reduced, delayed or withheld.
According to a report from Schumer’s office, in Chenango County there are a total of 12,370 social security beneficiaries and 1,076 veterans receiving benefits for a total value of $26,520,853 in payments per year. Schumer explained that if a bi-partisan agreement was not made, this money could face significant cuts, or possibly be stopped, in order to ensure enough funding for the government to “continue functioning.”
Schumer is pushing for a plan that would decrease government spending by $2 trillion over the next ten years which will “put us on a path towards major deficit reduction.”
“We cannot play games with our seniors’ and veterans’ benefits; it’s time for an agreement on the debt ceiling to keep these key payments flowing,” he said.
Congress has set an Aug. 2 deadline for the debt ceiling debate for which Schumer has insisted an agreement must be made.
“There’s a small group here saying ‘my way or no way,’” he said. “We’re tried to think of a compromise [but] you can’t say that or the people are going to get [the consequences].”