Richmond Leader

Washington, D.C. – On May 31, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after she voted in support of H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023:

“For weeks, I have called on my House Republican colleagues to prioritize the needs of the American people over their own party’s interests and cleanly raise the debt ceiling. While extreme MAGA Republicans held the American economy hostage and threatened cruel cuts or a devastating default, President Biden and congressional Democrats fought to put people over politics and protect the full faith and credit of the United States.

“Unfortunately, too many Republicans were willing to default without some compromise on spending, despite how catastrophic a default would be for hard working Americans, our economic recovery, and our national security.

“The Bipartisan Budget Agreement represents a compromise that protects Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, veterans benefits, and transformative investments in the clean energy and transportation economy contained in the Inflation Reduction Act. The compromise avoids even worse cuts and policy changes demanded by MAGA Republicans as outlined in their Default on America Act and Polluters over People Act passed earlier this year.

“There are provisions in the bill that I do not support; however, this bill is far better for my constituents, the American people, and our economy than the default we would certainly face if it fails.

“I voted yes on this legislation to protect the best interest of my constituents and ensure America’s continued economic stability. This legislation averts a catastrophic default that would have triggered a recession, cost millions of jobs, devastated retirement accounts and state budgets, and disrupted federal programs and benefits on which countless Americans rely.”

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023:

• Locks in two-year debt limit suspension and budget deal consistent with recent bipartisan budget agreements and rejects the 10-year caps House Republicans proposed.
• Rejects Republicans’ extreme discretionary cuts and locks in funding levels at current FY2023 levels, which contained significant increases in investments for education, childcare, and cancer research, and rejects the cruel cuts House Republicans proposed to schools, childcare programs, food assistance, first responders, and environmental protections.
• Protects Democrats’ economic growth agenda, including key legislative provisions included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) clean energy, corporate minimum tax, and prescription drug provisions, and rejects House Republicans’ attempt to strip clean-energy investments passed through the IRA.
• Rejects work requirements for Medicaid and adds new exemptions for SNAP to protect vulnerable Americans’ access to these crucial programs – including expanded eligibility for veterans, homeless individuals, and children who have aged out of the foster care system – and rejects House Republicans’ attempt to add burdensome work requirements to Medicaid.
• Protects Americans’ health care and retirements, safeguarding Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, and rejects House Republicans’ proposal that would have caused roughly 600,000 Americans to lose their health coverage.
• Protects one-time student debt cancellation of up to $20,000 for eligible borrowers – 90% of whom make under $75,000 – and rejects Republicans’ attempt to block this relief.

Congresswoman McClellan fought back against the permitting provision for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and led the entire Virginia House Democratic delegation in submitting an amendment to the Rules Committee to strip the provision from the bill. She supports similar efforts in the Senate led by Senator Tim Kaine.

Read the full text of the bill here and a section-by-section summary here.

Original source can be found here.