Wasserman Schultz Protects the American People From Default By Voting For The Bipartisan Budget Agreement

“After carefully reviewing the Bipartisan Budget Agreement negotiated by President Biden and Speaker McCarthy, which will raise the debt limit until January 2025 and reject the extreme Republican proposed funding cuts, I have decided that, on balance, I will support the deal.”

Washington, D.C. – Tonight, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) released the following statement today following a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Bipartisan Budget Agreement: 

“After carefully reviewing the Bipartisan Budget Agreement negotiated by President Biden and Speaker McCarthy, which will raise the debt limit until January 2025 and reject the extreme Republican proposed funding cuts, I have decided that, on balance, I will support the deal.

President Biden and House Democrats made it clear throughout this process that defaulting on our debt was never an option we would accept. Defaulting on our debt would be a dereliction of our duties as elected officials and destroy America’s economic recovery. I am appalled that Republicans attempted to hold the economy hostage despite raising the debt ceiling cleanly three times under President Trump.

As the Ranking Member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I am happy to see that thanks to President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the agreement successfully fought to ensure the Toxic Exposure Fund (TEF) will have the necessary dedicated funding to protect veterans’ medical care from Republican attacks and back-door budget cuts. The dedicated funding this legislation secured will uphold our promise to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service when passing the PACT Act.

Additionally, President Biden negotiated and secured expanded access to food assistance programs for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and aged-out foster children. For the first time, these populations are exempt from work requirements. According to CBO, the agreement ensures that more people will be eligible for SNAP benefits than before the agreement.

Finally, the identified savings that came from the negotiations will continue the work of the Biden-Harris Administration, which has already decreased the federal budget deficit by more than $1.7 trillion while creating 12 million jobs.

This is a record that President Biden, along with House and Senate Democrats, can be proud of.  I believe the Bipartisan Budget Agreement allows us to build on that record by preventing a historic and devastating default that would reverse so many of the gains we have made over the last two and a half years.

For those reasons, I voted yes on the agreement. This agreement was produced as a result of divided government. I’m glad we have President Biden’s seasoned experience to produce an agreement that protects veterans’ health care, avoids an economic catastrophe, and ensures more vulnerable people will benefit from food assistance benefits.”

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