Washington, D.C. –Today, U.S. Representative John D. Dingell (D-MI15) issued the following statement regarding his vote against H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011. H.R. 2560 passed the House by a vote of 234-190.
“In May, the federal government reached its legal borrowing limit and has been taking extraordinary measures since to keep the country out of default. This stall tactic cannot last forever, and in two weeks the U.S. Treasury Department will be unable to pay its loans. Without a statutory debt limit increase, we will face a catastrophic economic event which will have very real consequences not only for the banking industry, but also for American families. Stocks will plummet, housing prices will drop, interest rates will increase, Social Security checks and veterans benefits may be threatened, and jobs will be lost. It is of the utmost importance to raise the debt ceiling, and I remain committed to ensuring the financial security of our Nation.
“President Obama has urged Congress to present a debt limit package which would raise the debt ceiling, preventing economic catastrophe in the short-term, and reducing the national deficit by $4 trillion, establishing a fiscal responsibility in the long-term. Instead, Republican leadership appears determined to turn this decision into an ideological battle and has proven unwilling to compromise. Deciding to forego any sort of bipartisan compromise, they have introduced H.R. 2560, which is one of the most ideologically extreme pieces of major budget legislation to come before Congress in years, if not decades.
“H.R. 2560 would raise the debt ceiling from $14.294 trillion to $16.7 trillion, but it includes several ideological requirements which make it impossible to pass the Senate and sure to be vetoed by the President. It includes $111 billion in spending cuts in FY 2012, which would gut government programs and stop many important services. It also sets spending caps of 19.9 percent of GDP over the next ten years, which would require $400 billion in additional cuts each year. Moreover, it threatens our economic stability by conditioning a debt limit increase on a balanced budget amendment. Such an amendment would cap spending to 18 percent of GDP, necessitating deep cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. It would also require a supermajority vote to raise revenues, making it easier to cut Medicare than to cut subsidies for oil and gas companies.
“Instead of wasting valuable time considering such extreme, reckless, and partisan legislation, I encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to come back to the table and work out an actual solution. As Members of Congress, we have a duty to do what is in the best interest of this country, and it is time to put the political bickering aside and address the situation at hand. I look forward to working with my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, and President Obama in passing a debt ceiling package that provides the Treasury Department the borrowing authority it needs while also attacking our overwhelming mountain of debt.”
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