AT&T's Stephenson: Congress Must Not Allow Default

AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson said Friday that it is "unthinkable that United States could default on its financial commitments."

In a statement, Stephenson said that it would be the "height of irresponsibility" to even consider allowing that to happen.

Currently the government is shut down over failure to pass a continuing resolution appropriating funds to pay for government operations, but unless Congress agrees to raise the debt ceiling later this month, the country could start defaulting on debts, which various news outlets have pointed out is uncharted territory for the country.

Stephenson wants to make sure there is no reasons to chart it, saying even the discussion of default puts the economy at risk. "It is imperative to our Nation that the overwhelming majority of our public officials who recognize this reality unite their efforts, regardless of party, to bring a responsible solution forward."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.