About 25 people marched from Rep. Dusty Johnson’s office to Sen. Mike Rounds’ office in Sioux Falls Tuesday to show support of raising the U.S. debt ceiling.
The group, who was with the South Dakota chapter of Common Grounds Indivisible, believes a default would hurt South Dakotans, including veterans, the poor and the elderly, because their financial aid would be cut.
“I think our country is really in a crisis. If we go into a default, it cuts so may programs and it really sends a terrible message internationally,” protestor Joan McMillin said.
John Cunningham, a former candidate for State Treasurer, joined the rally. He said it is important for South Dakotans to show state representatives how they feel, because the representatives will vote on it. As a veteran, Cunningham also wanted to show support to current and retired military personnel who count on federal funding.
As they marched, the protestors held signs with messages including “default will be your fault” and “show some mercy.” Some passersby honked in reaction to the signs, including one man who stopped to clap from his vehicle.
Common Grounds Indivisible sent postcards to Johnson and Rounds, as well as Sen. John Thune.
Earlier this month Johnson told NPR it is irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without cutting federal spending.
"If you're a family who gets a maxed-out credit card bill and you just pay the bill and increase the limit on your credit cards without having a conversation at the family dinner table about what to do in the future, you're making a big mistake," Johnson said to NPR’s Rachel Treisman.
Immediately after the rally, office staff said that due to their policy Rounds was not available for comment.
Thune, the Minority Whip, said from the Senate floor on Thursday that he thinks negotiations are possible.
“It looks like the White House may finally be coming to the debt ceiling negotiating table in a serious way,” Thune said.
The deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk default is June 1.
