Area Congressmen Vote Against Debt Ceiling Plan

After weeks of debate and contentious meetings between President Barack Obama and a Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives over the country’s need to increase its debt ceiling or face default, a deal was reached Monday just a day before deadline.

Though the Senate has yet to vote on the bill – that is expected to come tomorrow – approval is seen as a sure thing considering the support of Obama and some Democratic congressmen. The Budget Control Act of 2011 passed the House 269-161.

Many democrats voted in support of the measure, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. However, many voted against S. 365, including U.S. Representatives Rush Holt (D-12) and Frank Pallone, (D-6). The former was demonstrative about his objection to the plan, saying the country was being held hostage by ideologues acting in the interest of a select few.

“The default debate is, at its heart, a debate between two visions for America,” Holt said in a statement Monday evening. “One side envisions rebuilding our country, investing in jobs and education and infrastructure, and rising from the Great Recession as a stronger and more resilient nation. The other side accepts a pessimistic vision of a weakened America with a shrunken government – a nation hampered by deep cuts to the safety net and hobbled by a refusal to invest in our future.”

The plan calls for more than $2 trillion in cuts to be delivered over two stages in the next decade and increases the debt ceiling by $900 billion, a measure leaders said was necessary to help the country pay its bills. The threat of default still looms should the Senate not approve the bill and get it to Obama’s desk before the end of the day Tuesday.

According to reports, default could cause significant problems, including raising interests rates, lowering the country’s credit rating, and delaying social security payments, among other issues.

Holt said much of his concern has to do with how the more than a trillion in cuts will be applied. The cuts, he claims, could significantly impact those in the country who are most vulnerable.

“The deal lays the groundwork for another $1.5 trillion in cuts to come, to be negotiation behind closed doors by an unelected super-committee,” he said. “Given that the first round of cuts will have decimated discretionary programs, there later cuts will very likely focus on Social Security and Medicare. The citizens who will be hurt are those who have the least voice in our democracy. After all, when a handful of politicians gather in the proverbial smoke-filled room, the interests of ordinary Americans are nearly always left out.”

In all, 174 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with 66 voting against it. On the democrat side, 95 voted for the bill and 95 voted against it. Three democrats did not vote on the bill.

Holt attacked Tea Party candidates specifically, not mincing words in his appraisal of their impact on U.S. politics.

“As poor as this deal is on its merits, I am even more troubled by the precedent it sets. The Tea Party and their enablers have, by taking the American economy hostage, transformed a routine budgetary authorization into the most dramatic reshaping of government in decades,” he said. “Today’s deal establishes that government-by-hostage-negotiation is a legitimate, effective way to achieve one’s political ends. I am frightened by what this means for the future of our democracy.”

Holt represents Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury Township, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Little Silver, Oceanport, Rumson, Fair Haven, Freehold, Holmdel, Middletown, and Manalapan, among other towns.

Pallone represents Red Bank, West Long Branch, Sea Bright, Asbury Park, and Neptune, among others.