Default Crisis Protest Draws Response from Rep. Edwards
On Friday, May 26, a group of concerned citizens led by Indivisible AVL gathered outside Congressman Edwards’s district office in Hendersonville, to urge him to support a clean debt ceiling bill in order to avoid default and to work separately on developing a fair budget. The event was covered by Asheville-based WLOS-News 13.
We were joined by members of the Progressive Alliance of Henderson County and the local group Veterans for Peace & Democracy. Constituents spoke about the dangers of default and the harms proposed in the combination budget and debt ceiling bill recently passed by the U.S. House, a bill that Rep. Edwards supported. Individuals spoke about the harmful effects on veterans, the poor, seniors, children and working families. Indivisible AVL president Robin Lively Summers addressed the overall dangers of playing with default and urged Edwards to do the right thing.
Indivisible AVL leadership spoke with Rep. Edward’s district office director, and after public comments delivered nearly 200 letters and cards to the congressman urging him to vote for a clean debt limit bill without cuts to essential services.
Edwards issued the following statement in response:
“I’m glad to see folks are interested in exercising their right to assemble and right to free speech. We agree that America has an obligation to pay our debts, and the House is the only branch that has put forth a proposal to do so. We must also get our spending under control, something that more than 90 percent of my townhall participants and 60 percent of CNN poll respondents agreed with. That is why I helped authorize Speaker McCarthy to negotiate a responsible and reasonable increase to our debt ceiling while beginning to rein in reckless Washington spending. Working families, small businesses and future generations are counting on us to get both of these things done, and the House has put forth the only plan to protect the good faith and credit of our nation.” (Rep. Chuck Edwards, NC-11 Representative, May 26, 2023)
View the news coverage of the event here on WLOS-News 13.
For background and more information about this event, see our event announcement and Media Advisory here.
