Marathon Pundit: Reid debt-ceiling bill defeated in House; Kinzinger statement

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Reid debt-ceiling bill defeated in House; Kinzinger statement

Hennepin Feeder Canal,
Illinois' 11th congressional district

This afternoon the House of Representatives voted down the Harry Reid debt-ceiling bill 173-246. No Republicans voted for Reid's smoke-and-mirrors bill, which does not include a balanced budget amendment.

House Republican freshman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) made his thoughts known about the Reid bill in a press release.

Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 2693, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's debt limit increase plan that fails to offer spending cuts greater than the increase and authorizes the largest debt limit increase in history. The measure failed in the House by a vote of 173-246.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan offers phantom savings, accounting gimmicks and hands a blank check to the President, signed by the taxpayers. It fails to cut more in spending than it increases in the debt ceiling and the deep slashes to our defense, threaten the security of our country.

General Martin E. Dempsey, President Obama's nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also cautioned that these cuts to the military budget would be "extraordinarily difficult and very high risk."

Over the last two weeks, the House passed two plans that would end the debt limit crisis, cut trillions of dollars in spending, remove barriers to job growth and refuel our economy.

Yesterday the House passed the Budget Control Act, legislation that was created during bipartisan discussions between House and Senate leaders. Unfortunately, Senator Reid abruptly abandoned this legislation to work on a partisan plan, knowing full well that it would never pass the House.

The House Republicans' Budget Control Act upholds the promises made – it cuts more spending than the increase in the debt limit and it does not raise any taxes. This plan cuts and caps spending by $917 billion over 10 years and would prevent a national default which threatens our economic growth as well as the national security of our country.

Additionally, the House-passed legislation forces Washington to maintain a strong focus on cutting spending and requires a plan by December that cuts at least $1.8 trillion more. Upon passage, this plan would mark the deepest spending cuts since World War II.