The current debt ceiling debate is over. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed – and President Obama has signed - a compromise plan to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a possible default on its obligations by the United States. All three members of Delaware’s congressional delegation voted for the deal.
“I think it was essential that we avoid defaulting on America’s mortgage,” said Senator Chris Coons (D) following Tuesday’s Senate vote. “It would have hurt our economy and made job creation even harder.”
“What we have here is not a solution, but a deal,” said Senator Tom Carper (D). “Instead of curing the disease, we’re treating the symptoms.”
“This is not the deal I wanted, but I decided to vote in support of the debt agreement because I do not believe default is an option for the country,” Rep. John Carney (D) said in a statement after the House vote.
The plan allows the debt ceiling to be raised between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion but ties that increase to similar sized cuts in spending over the next decade to address the federal deficit. The plan is expected head off any further need to raise the debt ceiling until after the 2012 elections.
The plan approved by Congress will immediately raise the debt ceiling by $400 billion and add another $500 million to it in the fall. That will be offset by cutting discretionary spending by $917 million. The ceiling will be raised by an an additional $1.2 to $1.5 trillion if Congress passes an equal sized amount of spending cuts developed by a congressional “super committee” made up of 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans chosen by party leadership in each chamber. The “super committee” recommendations are due by November 23rd and a vote on those recommendations without amendments must be held by December 23rd. If Congress fails to approve those recommendations, the debt ceiling would go up by $1.2 trillion balanced by across the board budget cuts of the same size.
The across the board cuts could also be avoided if both houses of Congress vote to approve a balanced budget amendment and sent it to the state for ratification.
The deal passed the Senate Tuesday afternoon by a 74 -26 vote with Delaware’s two senators, Tom Carper (D) and Chris Coons (D) each voting “yes” despite their reservations.
Coons is pleased that the deal was set up to address the debt ceiling through the 2012 election cycle, but believes it falls short of truly tackling the country’s economic issues.
“We are not going to come back in six months and do this all over again as (House) Speaker (John) Boehner and the Republicans wanted,” Coons said. “But my major concern is that we have missed a real opportunity to craft a bipartisan, bigger compromise that would strengthen our economy, avoid the threat of a (credit rating) downgrade, and put some lift under job creation.”
Like Coons, Senator Carper feels a larger comprehensive plan would have been better. The deal struck is missing key elements that Carper believes must be addressed.
“Two of the big pieces we need for a comprehensive bipartisan agreement are entitlement reform and tax reform. And those are basically left off the table,” said Carper.
Delaware Senator Tom Carper, (D) reacts to Debt Ceiling vote in Congress
Senator Carper feels Congress missed an opportunity to aggressively tackle the deficit issue.
Senator Carper ofers his thoughts on what the “super committee” to recommend further deficit reductions should look like.
Senator Carper suggests the White House could have handled the debt ceiling debate better.
Senator Carper believes the path forward on bringing down the U.S. deficit is clear.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons, (D) reacts to Debt Ceiling vote in Congress
Senator Coons is disappointed this is the best deal Congress could agree on.
Senator Coons feels a minority defined the debt ceiling debate.
Senator Coons is not optimistic revenue will be part of the “super committee” recommendations.
Senator Coons is concerned about where the debate over government’s size and role is headed.
Carper says he will encourage the “super committee” to look at entitlement and tax reform as it develops its recommendations. Coons would also like to see those issues on the table, but “is not at all optimistic that will be part of the proposal” based on the way the current debt ceiling debate played out.
Carper said he is willing to serve on the “super committee” if asked, but believes there are others more qualified, including members of the “Gang of Six”, and will recommend them to leadership.
The House passed the deal Monday night 269-16. Delaware’s lone Congressman, John Carney (D) was one of 95 Democrats to vote for the bill.
“Failure to raise the debt ceiling would hurt our economy and generate hundreds of billions in new debt obligations for the nation because of higher interest rates. Middle-class families would pay more for their mortgages, car loans and student loans. Our elected officials have a responsibility to ensure that doesn’t happen,” said Rep. Carney in his statement.
Carney added the compromise was “less balanced and less comprehensive than the approach I’ve been advocating”, but it allows the country to avoid an economic tailspin while protecting Social Security beneficiaries and Medicare recipients from cuts.
“This deal does not solve our debt problem. There is considerably more work to be done,” Carney added in his statement. “In addition to smart cuts that don’t undermine our economic recovery, generating new revenue through tax reform must be a focus of the joint commission and future negotiations. In the coming weeks and months, I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will work with me to make the structural changes necessary to further reduce the deficit in a balanced way.”
