Congresswoman Janice Hahn votes against debt ceiling deal
Janice Hahn celebrating her victory on July 12. Photo
Congresswoman Janice Hahn today cast her vote against the deal to raise the debt ceiling.
Hahn, a Democrat sworn in only 13 days ago after winning the July 12 special election to replace Jane Harman as District 36 representative, said in a statement that she felt the deal was unbalanced.
“This was a very difficult decision for me,” said Hahn. “The last thing any of us want to do is force our country into default. And, we never had to get to this point. We have raised the debt ceiling dozens of times. In fact, I voted to raise the debt ceiling without any strings attached just a few days ago. But in order to raise the debt ceiling and pay our bills, we were given legislation at the very last moment with the threat of default looming over us and I refuse to support this ‘compromise.’”
The debt ceiling legislation passed the House in a 269-161 vote, with 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats voting no. The broad outlines of the deal include an immediate $900 billion increase to the debt ceiling and an additional $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion within the next year. An estimated $2.1 trillion in budget cuts are attached to the legislation, the specifics of which will be decided in a newly formed congressional committee.
The deal is expected to be passed by the Senate by noon tomorrow. The New York Times today reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) supported the deal as beneficial to the “long-term health” of the U.S. economy. The Times reported that Reid acknowledged the reservations members of both parties had in accepting the deal while speaking on the Senate floor today.
“People on the right are upset,” Reid said. “People on the left are upset. People in the middle are upset.”
Hahn said she voted against the deal because sentiment in District 36 was strongly opposed. The Congresswoman indicated that budget cuts should be accompanied with tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.
“I listened to my constituents, and they overwhelmingly asked me to oppose this deal,” Hahn said. “Three weeks ago, the people of my district sent me to Washington to protect Social Security and Medicare and get to work investing in our future and creating jobs. The American people wanted a balanced approach. This is not it. I cannot support a bill that asks nothing of millionaires and billionaires while asking hardworking Americans already struggling to sacrifice even more.” ER