WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted 74-26 to approve the debt-ceiling deal. Last night, Harkin delivered a floor speech in opposition to the measure. To view his video, click here.
"To say that this is the wrong policy at the wrong time is a gross understatement. This deal will destroy millions of jobs in both the public and private sectors. And by shutting off Federal funding and investment - a critical engine sustaining our sputtering economy - it could easily plunge America back into recession.
"I have advocated a balanced approach to deficit reduction, including both spending cuts and revenue increases. But this deal expressly rejects a balanced approach. It offends people's basic sense of fairness that Congress would slash funding for things like student loans and cancer research, essential funding for seniors, people with disabilities, and the most vulnerable people in our society but ask not one dollar of shared sacrifice from millionaires and billionaires, who have received huge tax breaks over the last decade.
"Since the 1930s, Congress has routinely raised the debt ceiling 89 times, including seven times during the presidency of George W. Bush, and 18 times under President Reagan. Yet, this time, Congressional Republicans held the economy hostage, threatening to default on our national debt and plunge America back into recession unless their demands were met.
"This deal was not about reducing the deficit; first and foremost, this deal was about preserving hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations and for the wealthiest people in our society."
###
