WASHINGTON, DC — The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today reported that the Senate Democratic bill to prevent default and cut spending will reduce the budget deficit by about $2.2 trillion over the next ten years, nearly three times the $850 billion credited to the House Republican debt ceiling plan announced Monday.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) planned to hold a vote on the GOP bill today, but after the CBO score was released the vote was called off and Republicans are trying to determine if their proposal has enough support from their own party to pass. There are 240 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and it takes 217 votes to pass a bill.
U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who support the Democratic plan to ensure the U.S. does not default for the first time in our nation’s history, issued the following joint statement: “We need to prevent a default not just for the next six months but for a far longer term so the economy has certainty. And we need to responsibly cut spending. Democrats have a viable plan to accomplish those goals and Republicans don’t. The clock is ticking and the need for action is urgent. Republican delay is putting America in danger of defaulting.
“Republicans have used the debt ceiling to manufacture a crisis that now threatens to plunge our economy into chaos. There are some in the Republican party who seem willing to march the country off an economic cliff that could hasten a ratings downgrade, interest rate spikes, and more joblessness. That would be devastating to middle class families, who are increasingly frustrated.
“The American people expect Congress to work together to keep our country from defaulting, achieve trillions of dollars in savings, and put our country back on a fiscally sustainable path.”
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