South Palm Beach Today

Washington, DC – On June 1, 2023, Representative Lois Frankel (FL-22) released the following statement after voting in favor of a bipartisan agreement to suspend the debt limit until 2025, preventing a catastrophic default that would trigger a job-killing recession and raise costs for working families.

“President Biden’s Bipartisan Budget Agreement protects the American people and our economy from the devastation of a Republican-driven default on our debt,” said Rep. Frankel. “Like any compromise, no one got everything they wanted, but I’m thankful President Biden successfully rejected Republicans’ most extreme attacks on American seniors, veterans, and families. This agreement largely protects the critical lifelines everyday Americans rely on like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and keeps the historic progress Democrats have made over the past two years in place. Now it’s time to get back to work.”

The Bipartisan Budget Agreement:

Prevents Devastating Default on Our Debt

• The agreement suspends the debt limit through January 2025, ensuring the United States avoids the job-killing recession and skyrocketing costs for working families that would result from a default on our debt.

Protects Critical Services for Children and Families

• The agreement protects critical funding for education, health care, and housing in contrast to extreme MAGA Republicans’ proposal for 22 percent cuts and a decade of harmful budget cuts.

Protects Veterans’ Health Care:

• The agreement fully funds medical care for veterans, including increasing for funding the PACT Act’s toxic exposure fund (TEF) by nearly $15 billion over enacted levels – a key demand made by Democrats that eliminates extreme MAGA Republicans’ ability to play politics with veterans’ health care.

Protects Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security:

• The agreement protects Medicaid – which House Republicans voted to take away from as many as 21 million Americans – and blocks extreme MAGA Republican efforts to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it.

Protects Historic Clean Energy, Infrastructure Investments

• The agreement protects historic investments in clean energy in the Inflation Reduction Act, including for disadvantaged communities, and the generational investments in infrastructure included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Protects Student Loan Borrowers

• The agreement protects the 40 million borrowers in President Biden’s student debt relief plan and the Income-Driven Repayment plan, which cuts student loan payments in half for eligible borrowers.

Protects Lifelines for Vulnerable Americans

• The agreement helps more veterans, people experiencing housing instability, and young people aging out of foster care access SNAP, while avoiding the most devastating changes extreme MAGA Republicans sought to SNAP and TANF. 

The agreement passed the House by a vote of 314 to 117. It now heads to the Senate, where it must be approved before it can reach President Biden’s desk.

Original source can be found here.