Schiff Statement on House-Passed Bill to Avoid Government Default
Washington, DC – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) released the following statement after the House approved a bill tonight that raises the federal debt limit and cuts discretionary spending by $1 trillion over the next 10 years, averting a government default.
"America pays its debts, and tonight I voted to pay them. The bill represents a painful and unbalanced compromise that should have included revenue, as part of a grand bargain that would set this nation on a new and responsible path towards true fiscal responsibility. Such a measure would have have created jobs and given our economy a much-needed shot in the arm. This bill won't. It had only one merit -- that it would avoid the cataclysm of America defaulting on its debts for the first time in history with all the long-lasting economic damage that would have done. For that reason, and that reason alone, it had my support. I can only hope that now that this man-made crisis is over, we can get down to the most important job of all, putting Americans back to work. That has been and will continue to be my top priority."
The bill, which passed by a 269 to 161 margin in the House, now goes to the Senate, which is likely to take up the measure tomorrow, Aug. 2 -- the day the Treasury said it would begin running out of funding to pay the nation's bills.
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