African American Mayors Association Calls for Bipartisan Action on Debt Ceiling

The African American Mayors Association (AAMA) joined a growing list of community organizations, state and local officials, and private sector leaders to implore Congress to take timely, bipartisan action to address the debt limit “to avoid widespread economic crisis.”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, president of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA), warned in a statement: “If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, state and local governments will face enormous reductions in federal grants-in-aid, ranging from the federal share of states’ Medicaid costs to federal funding for education. The cuts will only exacerbate the long-standing economic challenges working families across the country have struggled to overcome, and which are more acute now as a result of the pandemic.”

He concluded: “American families shouldn’t have to shoulder new financial burdens that can easily be avoided if Congress does its job. The country’s financial stability should not be a pawn in a game of political chess. Congress must act now to increase the debt ceiling and protect our nation’s economic future.