Biden in 2009: 'We've got to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt'

President Joe Biden is advocating for passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill that House Speaker Pelosi says the Democratic-led Congress is ready to pass through budget reconciliation, which wouldn't require votes from Republicans.

Biden is also pushing for expanding Obamacare with a government-run public option. He signed a series of health care executive orders on Thursday aimed at expanding access to Obamacare.

During an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) town hall in July 2009, Biden said the U.S. government has to keep spending to avoid bankruptcy.

"We're going to go bankrupt as a nation," Biden said at an AARP event when Obamacare was being debated in 2009. "People, when I say that, look at me and say, 'What are you talking about, Joe? You're telling me we've got to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?'" "The answer is yes, that's what I'm telling you." 

In August of 2009, about 60,000 members of AARP had reportedly canceled their memberships over the organization's support for the Obama administration's health care reform effort, according to CBS News.

The current national debt is approaching $28 trillion. In FY2020, the deficit reached a record $3 trillion.