Opinion | Facing the real-world effect of a government default

Legitimate policy initiatives that truly benefit constituents should be addressed looking forward, not backward. This bill is chock-full of arbitrary initiatives that threaten our rebounding economy and will set the United States, and Virginia, back many years. Ms. Kiggans should stop the partisan hackery and listen to the reasonable majority of constituents, not just the loud and irrational minority. It is well beyond time to step away from the make-believe MAGA crises and deal with the hard reality that comes with responsible government.

A clean debt ceiling raise is the only responsible way forward. Holding our government and economy hostage for political gain is not sober political engagement. To defend it as a move to compel negotiation is absurd and will clearly lead to negative effects.

Ms. Kiggans must set aside illegitimate loyalty to a political party beholden to a fascistic MAGA base determined to see our country fail. Instead, do what is right for our district and Virginia. As a fellow veteran with 30 years of service who has been forced to manage a government shutdown because of this type of wasteful and irresponsible behavior, I implore Ms. Kiggans to stand up for our fellow veterans, our district and Virginia.

Sam Bethune, Virginia Beach

I have, until recently, put the looming debt ceiling crisis on the level of grandstanding for political points by the majority of Republicans; that is, until reading Dana Milbank’s column, “House Republicans walk the plank.” It is chilling to think that loyalty to the party outweighs loyalty to constituents, which Mr. Milbank documented over and over.

It was the last sentence of the essay — “If the week’s chaos is the House GOP leadership’s idea of thoughtful, this would be an excellent time to unload your Treasury bonds” — that made me sit up and realize that there will be a real-world financial impact on me and my family and millions of families like mine if the United States does default. So what should I, and millions like me, be doing right now to protect my finances from these selfishly grandstanding Republicans?