Rep. Nadler's Statement on the Bipartisan Budget Agreement

Statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) released the following statement on his vote in support of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013:

"Over the past few years, Congressional spending has gone entirely in the wrong direction. The sequester, combined with a general collapse in government spending, has been suffocating much-needed human services, dragging down the economy, and killing jobs.

"Congress needs to completely roll back the sequestration funding levels and greatly increase government spending to spur our economy, increase job growth, and invest in our nation's grossly underfunded transportation infrastructure. While the budget deal should have gone much further, at least it does restore some funding for infrastructure, housing, health and safety programs that millions of Americans rely on every day. By modestly increasing domestic spending and providing stability to the budget process, this agreement will have some positive effects on the economy and will improve the lives of people all across America.

"Unfortunately, this bill fails to include the extension of unemployment insurance, an issue that used to have broad, bipartisan support. Congress should not be ending unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans, including 127,100 New Yorkers, who are currently looking for work. It is the wrong decision for these families and, with the more than 300,000 jobs that will be lost as a result of the discontinuation of this program, it is deeply hurtful to our economy. We will not give up our fight to extend unemployment insurance, and we will continue to look for opportunities to address this critical economic issue.

"Remember, unprecedented budget cuts have greatly harmed our country over the past few years. It is because this budget agreement reduces this damage, even if only in a small measure, that I reluctantly voted for its passage."

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