Let me be clear: If extremist Republicans force a default and government shutdown, it will be a disaster for the middle class and threaten our economic recovery. It could trigger a major economic crisis, increase our deficit by leading to a significant increase in interest costs and undermine our nation’s financial standing worldwide.

It could mean no more Social Security checks for seniors, no salaries for soldiers, no benefits for veterans and no loans for college students. It could weaken our security, including border security and efforts to prevent more terrorist attacks.

If we listen to the American people and work together, we can reduce our deficit on a bipartisan basis without undermining the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The extreme step of shutting down the government should not be an option for anyone whose first priority is protecting the middle class and ensuring that the fragile economic turnaround we are seeing grows into a full-blown recovery.