Carson Votes No on Unbalanced Debt Ceiling Plan

Congressman André Carson released the following statement today after the vote in the House to raise the debt ceiling. The legislation would increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion later this year. Another $1.5 trillion in budget cuts would be identified by a bipartisan special committee of lawmakers appointed by leaders of the House and Senate.

"I am certain the President believed this was the deal he had to make to avoid disaster, given he was negotiating with Republicans who seemed willing to allow the country to default in order to protect their wealthy friends. To this end, I do not fault the President, who I respect greatly.

"But I am here to represent my constituents in the 7th District, most of whom say we need a balanced approach. They understand the need to sacrifice, provided that sacrifice is shared and it results in job creation. But under this approach, oil companies earning billions and companies exporting American jobs sacrifice nothing. Millionaires, whose low tax rates have not led to job creation, sacrifice nothing.

"More troubling is that this bill has a trigger gimmick that means automatic cuts if Congress cannot reach agreement. In other words, Republicans just need to refuse to compromise again to inflict devastating cuts on working people and undermine the solvency of Medicare."

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