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The end of a high-stakes battle over the U.S. debt limit left the Bay State’s representatives in Washington unusually divided, but none declared the final outcome a victory.
Seven of Massachusetts’ 10 members of Congress voted against the measure, saying it imperils programs for the neediest citizens and endangers the state and nation’s economy.
“It’s $2.5 trillion of cuts with nothing positive, no good reason to have done it to that level,” said U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, D-8th.
Three congressional representatives who voted in favor of a last-minute compromise described it as a difficult necessity to avert economic catastrophe after weeks of political stalemate.
The measure ultimately passed the House, 269-161, and the Senate, 74-26. Both Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown voted for the bill, which the president signed into law Tuesday afternoon.
“This deal is not the deal that we Senate Democrats would have made and it’s not the deal that we wanted,” Kerry, a Democrat, said. “But avoiding default for our country is an absolute imperative and so there really wasn’t a choice to try to find time for reasonableness.”
Brown, a Republican, released a brief statement saying he supported the measure because it avoids default, significantly cuts spending and does not raise taxes. There is more work ahead, he said.
The federal Treasury warned the U.S. government would not have been able to borrow enough money to meet its financial obligations after Tuesday, potentially affecting everything from interest rates to municipal bond ratings.
The legislation authorizes an immediate $400 billion increase in the debt limit and allows the president to request another $500 billion increase shortly. The measure also caps most federal discretionary spending to cut the budget about $917 billion over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.
The compromise lays out steps to further increase the debt ceiling for a total of as much as $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, matched by spending cuts, the budget office said.
In a key provision, a 12-member congressional committee of six Democrats and six Republicans would be charged with identifying another $1.2 trillion in cuts by 2021. If they fail or Congress votes down their recommendations, across-the-board cuts would go into effect automatically.
In that scenario, Social Security and Medicaid would be exempt, while Medicare reimbursements to health care providers could be cut up to 2 percent.
Congressmen who opposed the compromise said while they supported a separate debt proposal from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, this one would more likely harm programs their constituents want or need.
The end of a high-stakes battle over the U.S. debt limit left the Bay State’s representatives in Washington unusually divided, but none declared the final outcome a victory.
Seven of Massachusetts’ 10 members of Congress voted against the measure, saying it imperils programs for the neediest citizens and endangers the state and nation’s economy.
“It’s $2.5 trillion of cuts with nothing positive, no good reason to have done it to that level,” said U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, D-8th.
Three congressional representatives who voted in favor of a last-minute compromise described it as a difficult necessity to avert economic catastrophe after weeks of political stalemate.
The measure ultimately passed the House, 269-161, and the Senate, 74-26. Both Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown voted for the bill, which the president signed into law Tuesday afternoon.
“This deal is not the deal that we Senate Democrats would have made and it’s not the deal that we wanted,” Kerry, a Democrat, said. “But avoiding default for our country is an absolute imperative and so there really wasn’t a choice to try to find time for reasonableness.”
Brown, a Republican, released a brief statement saying he supported the measure because it avoids default, significantly cuts spending and does not raise taxes. There is more work ahead, he said.
The federal Treasury warned the U.S. government would not have been able to borrow enough money to meet its financial obligations after Tuesday, potentially affecting everything from interest rates to municipal bond ratings.
The legislation authorizes an immediate $400 billion increase in the debt limit and allows the president to request another $500 billion increase shortly. The measure also caps most federal discretionary spending to cut the budget about $917 billion over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.
The compromise lays out steps to further increase the debt ceiling for a total of as much as $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years, matched by spending cuts, the budget office said.
In a key provision, a 12-member congressional committee of six Democrats and six Republicans would be charged with identifying another $1.2 trillion in cuts by 2021. If they fail or Congress votes down their recommendations, across-the-board cuts would go into effect automatically.
In that scenario, Social Security and Medicaid would be exempt, while Medicare reimbursements to health care providers could be cut up to 2 percent.
Congressmen who opposed the compromise said while they supported a separate debt proposal from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, this one would more likely harm programs their constituents want or need.
Capuano said he doubts the 12-member congressional committee set up will reach a deal.
“These cuts will probably end up being across the board, because the likelihood of us being able to come up with a compromise on how to do so reasonably is small,” Capuano said.
Cuts could still affect everything from nutrition programs for children to senior housing, Capuano said. Reduced federal spending will not only affect government workers, but private contractors who work on public jobs, he said.
The potential Medicare cuts could mean lost jobs for people in the health care field, Capuano said.
Capuano also was critical of the legislation’s elimination of subsidized Stafford loans for graduate students in college, saying it could make it more difficult for young people to enter fields in science, teaching, high tech and health care.
“We cannot compete with Chinese or Indian workers on the basis of low-income wages,” Capuano said. “The only future we have in this world economy is on intellectual capital.”
Capuano said he would have favored looking at ways to increase revenues in addition to spending cuts, some of which he acknowledged are necessary. The final legislation, he said, amounts to capitulation by the White House.
It’s not total defeat, “but it’s darn close,” he said.
(David Riley can be reached at 508-626-3919 or driley@wickedlocal.com.)
