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Edwards Statement on Budget Agreement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2013


Washington, DC – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (MD-4) released the following statement on the budget agreement, which passed the House by a vote of 332-94.

“This is not the bill I would have written,” said Congresswoman Edwards. “If I had written this bill, some federal employees would not be forced to pay more for their retirement and 1.3 million Americans, including over 22,900 Marylanders, would not be losing their unemployment insurance.

“This agreement is the product of compromise, and is by definition imperfect.  Yet, I support this agreement because it preserves the COLA increase for federal workers and rejects the Ryan Budget’s draconian proposal to force those same workers to pay 5.5 percent ($140 billion) more for their retirement. It also uses a mix of spending cuts and revenue to replace sequestration, which has devastated our region’s economy.

“It is now time to focus on the priorities of the American people: investing in our infrastructure to create jobs, raising the minimum wage, passing comprehensive immigration reform, and promoting economic policies that help America’s women and families.”

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