in a narrow margin the U.S House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the limit save grow act a bill that would raise the national debt ceiling only in exchange for massive spending cuts President Biden's already said raising the debt level is non-negotiable the federal government hit its 31.4 trillion dollar debt limit already and the U.S treasury Department has now had to take Extraordinary Measures to pay the government's bills and avoid defaulting on its debt something the U.S has never done before but those options will run dry in June I'm joined Now by congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman who wasn't able to vote on Wednesday but says if she had it would have been a no congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman thank you so much for being with us today for having me this bill that just passed on Wednesday ties increasing the debt limit the debt ceiling to deep spending cuts federal spending cuts you're opposed to that why well I think in this situation what they presented with us is you're damned if you do damned if you don't to me this is meanness on display so it's either we crash our economy by not dealing with the debt ceiling or we could very important important and vital resources to people from Seniors to Veterans to disable to minorities to low income that impacts housing and health care and Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare all of those things that distinguish us from an underdeveloped or an evil um authoritarian regime in some other country now economists right now are saying that we are teetering or nearing a recession and that like you said cuts to federal spending or cut or lack of increasing the debt ceiling could push us over that edge do you think though that there is value in having a conversation around cutting spetting spending in Washington do you think that's something we need to consider so let me tell you what I think I think that you can't negotiate with these Republicans that they are negotiating from a very mean perspective that is negatively impacting the well-being of their constituents my constituents and everybody else in this country I think that we're all logical people in my caucus and we'll be looking to see how we accomplish what we need to do to preserve the economy and the um the credit worthiness of the United States of America so that we don't crash the economy till 401ks kill people kill jobs and and kill the future for so many others um but what what they presented before us uh the other day is not anything that's not a starting point for any negotiations that's just the illustration of how out of touch and mean they are the house led by house leader Kevin McCarthy has said that they view themselves now not as on the defensive but rather on the offensive where does this bill go now when it reaches the Senate what do you think its future holds so let me say that McCarthy is not the leader of this conference it is Marjorie Taylor green for one thing and let me just tell you that this bill goes into the toilet where it belongs it's Dead on Arrival in the Senate and number three is if this is an illustration of they're doing work and moving forward then they're just so out of touch they have no idea what their constituents need and expect and their constituents are going to hear about this from every one of us and yet time is running out to raise the debt ceiling and so a deal has to be struck do you believe in just a few seconds left that bipartisanship that a compromise is possible well you already you already lost four votes on uh before Republican votes on this bill that he um set forth the other day um I do believe that there will be support at the end of the day for protecting our worthiness our credit worthiness in this country congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman thank you for your perspective thanks for being with us today thanks for having me [Music]