WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) tonight issued the following statement regarding her vote against the debt ceiling deal agreed to by Congressional leaders.  The bill passed the House of Representatives by 269 – 161, and now goes to the Senate where it is expected to pass, and eventually be signed into law by the President. 

“After reviewing the details of this so-called compromise, I could not in good conscience vote for this bill. Since the beginning, I have stated that all of our economic issues should never have been conflated in this debate.  We have serious economic challenges and they are far too important to be held hostage to preserving the full faith and credit of the United States. 

“Yet here we are at the 11th hour, with a gun to our head, being asked to accept an extreme, unbalanced proposal that places too great a burden on the middle class while failing to ask for any shared sacrifice from corporations and the nation’s wealthiest. Frankly, after months of what could have been productive negotiations to develop a balanced economic path for our country, I resent being forced into this choice. 

“The proposal we voted on tonight is a ’smoke-and-mirrors’ piece of legislation that I, along with many economic analysts, fear may have a potentially devastating impact on our fragile economy.  The bill calls for extraordinary cuts in spending, but as opposed to previous versions of a deal, we have no idea where those cuts will come from. All we know is they will likely be determined by the same appropriators who have already this year slashed critical programs that protect American families. 

“Our nation is still in crisis, and the American people deserve a balanced solution, with reasonable cuts to spending – like agricultural and ethanol subsidies, combined with common-sense revenue enhancements – like closing tax loopholes for corporations and the ultra-rich. Such a solution would have enabled us to begin to get our nation’s fiscal house in order, while investing in programs that create jobs and train our workforce to compete in the global economy.  

“It is long past time for this Congress to truly focus on getting Americans back to work, yet tonight, after holding our nation’s credit rating hostage we instead passed a bill that may actually jeopardize those efforts. 

“I must also say it was truly wonderful and emotionally overwhelming for us all to welcome back my brave colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on the Floor tonight. She is truly an inspiration to us all.” 

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