Reps. Terri Sewell and Robert Aderholt vote in favor of the bipartisan debt ceiling bill

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Sunlight shines on the U.S. Capitol dome on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL04) and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) released statements after voting in favor of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act.

“With the circumstances that we find ourselves in with a divided government, I think this agreement not only reflects the reality of the situation, it is a step in the right direction,” said Congressman Aderholt. ”If Republicans were in control of the Senate and the White House, then I would certainly expect more – more cuts to domestic spending, more funding for our national defense, more restraint on the debt ceiling in the future. However, under this bill, we will, for the first time in our nation’s history, spend less money than we did the previous year. It will lead us to smaller government and more prosperity. We all know that this agreement is not perfect, but let’s be clear:  Republicans will not stop here in our ongoing fight for fiscal accountability.”

Sewell said that H.R. 3746, the bipartisan budget agreement, was necessary to prevent a devastating default. Sewell said that the bill also rejected Republicans’ extreme demands to make deep cuts to programs that Alabama families rely on. The agreement, negotiated by President Joe Biden, protects against cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ health care, historic infrastructure, and climate investments. It also prevents Republicans from manufacturing a similar crisis in the next two years by suspending the debt limit until January 1, 2025.

“House Republicans could have passed a clean bill to address the debt ceiling months ago, but instead chose to hold the American people hostage and bring our economy to the brink of crisis in order to advance their extreme agenda,” said Rep. Sewell. “To be clear, this bill is far from perfect, but it prevents a default. It prevents future efforts to hold this nation hostage for the rest of the 118th Congress, and it prevents cruel Republican cuts. This budget agreement that President Biden negotiated protects funding for education, health care, veterans’ benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Most importantly, it prevents Republicans from forcing a devastating default that would kill countless jobs in my district and destroy our economy.”

“I join in expressing my frustration with the crisis that my Republican colleagues have manufactured,” Sewell said. “The American people deserve better than a Republican Majority that chooses to govern crisis-by-crisis.”

Sewell shared a section-by-section summary of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement is available here.

The legislation was negotiated between the Republican leadership led by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy with President Biden and the Congressional Democrats. The deal will raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.

The legislation passed on a bipartisan 314 to 117 vote. The legislation now goes to the Senate for its consideration. The legislation is expected to receive swift passage as the default deadline looms.

The issue divided the Alabama Congressional delegation. Terri Sewel (D-AL07), Robert Aderholt (R-AL04), Jerry Carl (R-AL01), and Mike Rogers (R-AL03) all voted in favor of the debt ceiling agreement. Barry Moore (R-AL01), Dale Strong (R-AL05), and Gary Palmer (R-AL06) voted against the deal.

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