Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio is blasting Republicans in the US House for forcing a government shutdown.
But in a speech on the House floor Tuesday, the Democrat said he's even more concerned Republicans, with the support of wealthy contributors, are threatening to block an increase in debt ceiling.
DeFazio: "If they do this, interest rates for everything in America will go up dramatically. That means 10s of billions of dollars more per year just to retire the federal debt. They supposedly care about the debt, well they're going to raise the debt immediately by adding interest costs. It means home mortgages bump up again – stalls out the housing recovery. Cars go up again for loans… But they don't really care, 'cause they don't borrow money for things, because most of these people are rich."
Without legislative action, the debt ceiling is expected to be exceeded in the coming weeks.