"I am glad that we passed an agreement in time to avoid default - the consequences of which would have been disastrous for middle class families. And while I did earlier support a more responsible version of the agreement raising the debt ceiling, I could not support this legislation as I believe it will have a harmful effect on job creation and further weaken the economic security of millions of American families.
"The spending cuts specified in this deal will slash critical investments in education, infrastructure and research, among other things-- public investments critical to job creation and economic growth. The majority's insistence that these priorities are to blame for our deficit problems is simply untrue. The primary reasons deficits have grown so large is because revenues are lower than they have been in sixty years, thanks to the recession and the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy, and we initiated two wars on the nation's credit card. If this majority were at all serious about deficit reduction, they would at least allow for additional revenue by asking the wealthiest Americans and corporate special interests to share in the sacrifice rather than protecting them.
"Without assurances that Congress will pursue a balanced approach, the additional cuts called for in a few short months as part of the agreement will threaten the promises made to generations of hard-working Americans by ending Medicare as we know it, cutting Medicaid, and compromising the future of Social Security. I could not in good conscience support such an unbalanced approach that places the burden of deficit reduction on the backs of middle class families and our seniors while further weakening our shaky economy."
Murphy:
"From the beginning of this manufactured crisis, I have said that I would be willing to support a compromise deal that fairly shares the burden of deficit reduction. This bill isn't a compromise - it places almost the entire burden of deficit reduction on Medicare beneficiaries, middle class families, and the poor. Not one corporate tax loophole is closed. Not one billionaire will pay a cent more in taxes. But seniors will lose Medicare providers, and programs for the poor and disabled will be slashed. That's not what my constituents believe is a compromise.
This deficit was created by two trillion-dollar wars and tax cuts for the rich. But the wars are exempted from these cuts, and the Bush tax cuts aren't touched either. This bill, which we all had about 24 hours to read and dissect, does virtually nothing to address the root causes of our deficit and instead asks middle class America to pay the check for decades of fiscal mismanagement."
Interestingly, the words "middle class" do not appear in either Himes' or Courtney's statements (assuming the Courant provided the statements in full).
MLN is powered by