Pierce Today

BREMERTON, WA – On May 29, 2023, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) released the following statement after President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy reached a bipartisan budget agreement:

This year, American families, workers, retirees, students, and others were held hostage by extreme D.C. Republicans who demanded drastic spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit – something which Democrats and Republicans accomplished three times under the previous president.

This sort of manufactured crisis is central to why Americans are frustrated with Congress. They’re frustrated when D.C. folks play politics and create unnecessary crises.

People know I’m not a partisan bomb thrower, so I say this as a simple fact: The spending plan Republicans put forward in April was a non-starter. It would've meant deep cuts to local law enforcement and food safety programs, eliminated preschool slots for kids and childcare opportunities for hardworking parents, done away with some financial aid for college students, and much more. It never had a shot at becoming law – something extreme D.C. Republicans knew all along.

For weeks, President Biden and his staff worked in good faith to compromise with House Republican leaders, and – as you may have read – his team recently reached an agreement.

So, what's my take?

I'm often in the position of having to either hold my nose and vote yes or hold my nose and vote no. To be clear, I have concerns about parts of the agreement.

I also think it's important for America to pay its bills. Failing to address the debt ceiling is like choosing not to make the minimum payment on a credit card -- you can make that choice, but it will have disastrous consequences.

Here’s what we know: A default would raise borrowing costs for every American family and small business. Independent economic analysis suggests that a default would kill millions of American jobs and deliver a huge blow to folks in our neck of the woods. That's not something I'm willing to accept.

This is not a perfect deal. But overall, this legislation will help our country avoid economic catastrophe – and will protect critical services, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, health care, education, and more. With the debt ceiling deadline just days away, Congress should take action to pass this legislation.

This week, I intend to vote yes on this bipartisan budget compromise.

Original source can be found here.