Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell discusses her concerns with the debt deal
Interview
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First of all, I still feel like we're being held hostage.
The fact of the matter is, the country cannot default, period. And the consequences are scary and intimidating. We would be harming our economy for years to come, hurting seniors, veterans, children. I could go through the list. So default is not an option.
But that's why we're being held hostage, because I am one of the people that is read all 100 pages of this bill. And I have been asking questions for three days. And there are things in this bill that I would clearly not support. I believe people -- when you talk about the environmental provisions, which, by the way, why are they even part of this, people focus on the West Virginia pipeline and they focus on transmission.
But I have read the bill. And I have questions and have raised it. I think it guts the heart of NEPA, which is the -- considered the Magna Carta of environmental laws around the world. And I believe that communities have a right. Do I think the bill needs to be modernized? Yes. But I think communities have a right to have a say about their water, their air, their ground.
And I think people don't understand what the potential consequences of it are. And, two, when you talk about work requirements, I think they're raising the age for people aged 50 to 54. Well, there's a group I'm really worried about, which is women who have had to leave the work force during this pandemic. It's the sandwich generation. They're caregivers.
The definition of a dependent that would be eligible is a child 1 to 6 or someone that is totally an invalid, they can't -- so most seniors don't fall into that definition.
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I'm still undecided, because I know we can't default. I'm angry that we're in this position. I'm looking for answers to questions. And I'm still -- I'm talking to my colleagues. I'm talking to the White House, making really clear about my concerns.
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So, first of all, hindsight is foresight. But I will be very clear that anybody who knows me says that people should be at the table.
Compromise is not a dirty word. We need to be talking to each other and listening to each other. And, quite frankly, if you look at the record, I said it a month ago when somebody asked me and probably got in trouble with some people. So I'm always the person that says sit at the table, talk early, talk about the issues.
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Well, what's -- one of the questions that we're all asking are, what does it mean?
Because defense spending will increase by 3 percent. We're protecting veterans. That's something we're all very happy about. But in -- Social Security should not be cut. But what are the programs that are going to be cut? And, quite frankly, there are still a lot of questions about that.
There are a lot of questions about the COVID spending and what money will still be there. What's obligated? Communities across the country are very concerned now, because they didn't -- they thought they had until 2024 to spend that money. I, by the way, have been yelling at my communities, if you need that money, you should be spending it now.
But I think there are a lot of questions. And that's part of the problem of the way that this has been done, when we're down to last-minute crises that we can't -- we know that we cannot not pay our bills, but we're making deals like this that should not be done. They should be part of regular order.
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Well, when I'm in meetings, I get a lot of, this could have been a lot worse, this is what could have been in it.
And, by the way, I do believe it could have been a lot worse. But this is a budget deal. And we're putting things in there like permitting, which, by the way, we do need to address. But I think that people aren't paying enough attention to actually what's in there that it could actually gut major environmental laws.
So I just feel betwixt and between. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. And I know we got to do something to raise the debt limit, because that outcome is unacceptable. And I'm unhappy with what's in the bill. If they -- these were issues that were being voted on not included in this package, I would not be voting for them.
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So, to a person, I know that everybody in the Democratic Caucus knows default is not OK.
I think everybody is waiting to see how many Republicans are going to vote for this bill. I think that a lot of people are just very unhappy about where we are, and that we're down to a finish line like we are where the consequences are so real if we don't raise the debt ceiling.
So I think there are a lot of unhappy people who know that we have got to protect our country.
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Thank you.
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