Press Release
Today, the Senate passed legislation ensuring that our nation will pay the bills it has incurred and avoid a default on its debt, which would have been an economic catastrophe. It also cuts spending by $1.2 trillion and establishes a bipartisan committee tasked with agreeing by year’s end on an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. Democrats worked hard to make sure that this agreement preserves Medicare and Social Security, protects Medicaid and other programs for the most vulnerable, and phases in cuts over the next decade to minimize harm to our economic recovery.
We're going to be meeting with our caucus today and we want to talk to them, find out what they believe. Again, all of them to a person believe that default is not an option, which is why this is such a tough decision. But we've missed an opportunity. This is not a balanced approach, revenues need to be on the table and we haven't done that.
Now that the Senate has rejected Speaker Boehner's partisan, short-term bill, it is time to come together on a compromise plan to pay America's bills and reduce the deficit. We cannot continue to waste time as we have this past week. I hope my Republican colleagues in both the House and Senate will work with us in a responsible way to prevent our nation from defaulting on its debts and the catastrophic consequences it would have on our economy.
This evening, in a partisan vote, the House passed Speaker Boehner’s short-term plan on the debt limit. Speaker Boehner’s plan, which will return our nation to the edge of a default crisis in a matter of months, is a recipe for damaging, job-destroying economic uncertainty—which, in the wake of today’s disappointing report on economic growth, is clearly the last thing America needs. In addition, in order to win the support of the most extreme members of his own party, Speaker Boehner added a provision that would permanently write Republicans’ narrow ideological priorities into the Constitution itself. This bill is no solution to this Republican-created crisis. It is clear that it will not pass the Senate; nor would President Obama sign it.
Tomorrow marks the 46th anniversary of Medicare being signed into law by President Johnson. For almost 50 years, Democrats have fought to preserve this bedrock program. And we will continue the fight, despite Republican attempts to end it and raise costs for seniors. House Republicans have repeatedly voted for a budget plan that would more than double seniors’ health care costs, re-open the prescription drug donut hole and place seniors at the whim of the private insurance market.
Today we learned that our economy grew by 1.3% in the last quarter, which is clearly not strong enough, even after eight straight quarters of growth. As growth has slowed, it is disappointing that Republicans have yet to present a comprehensive jobs plan to get Americans back to work. Unlike Republicans, Democrats have a plan: the Make It In America plan to strengthen our manufacturing sector, create jobs, and help American families succeed. We hope Republicans will join us in passing legislation to revitalize American industry and the middle-class jobs it creates.
President Obama today announced an agreement with 13 automakers that will make an important difference to our economic future, our national security, and our environment: by Model Year 2025, cars and light trucks will meet a fuel efficiency standard of 54.5 miles per gallon. This breakthrough agreement—which builds on the successful efforts of the Democratic-led 111th Congress to improve fuel efficiency and revitalize the American auto industry—will save American families money and significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, the 2025 fuel standards are expected to save Americans an average of $8,000 per vehicle and cut our consumption of oil by 2.2 million barrels a day. I congratulate the Obama Administration and the automakers for this important step toward a more energy-efficient future, which will benefit our economy and increase America's energy independence.
We see a deeply divided party on the Republican side of the aisle who knew this crisis was coming. I advised in April as we sat around the be the Cabinet table with the President we ought to solve this problem by the first of June and not push this country to the brink of default. Unfortunately, every effort to do that has been rejected. Every effort, every meeting, every conference that's looked for compromise, the Republicans have walked out… What the Speaker now sees is that his own members have walked out on him.
Today, I voted against Republican legislation that would cut short the permitting process for the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada. I support the pipeline, but this bill is a solution in search of a problem. The Obama Administration remains set to make a decision on the pipeline by the end of the year. Cutting short the timeline for a decision would restrict the administration’s opportunity to hear comments and input from the relevant federal agencies, the states, and the public on the range of issues raised by the pipeline: its environmental impact, potential safety problems posed by a pipeline moving this specific kind of crude oil, and, above all, the question of whether approving the pipeline is in the national interest. I urge the Obama Administration to conclude the permitting process in a timely manner, but this unnecessary bill would do little to encourage a responsible and well-informed decision.
Yesterday, Speaker Boehner laid out a debt limit proposal that puts our economy at risk and does not give businesses and the markets certainty they need. Republicans talk about the need to give our economy certainty so that we can create jobs, but rather than move forward with a long-term plan that ensures we pay our nation’s bills and reduces our deficit, Republicans are refusing to compromise and clinging to their ideological agenda.