Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes NO on House GOP’s Reckless Default on America Act
“Republicans continue to push our country toward economic disaster unless Democrats meet their extreme demands. Their Default on America Act shows their hand, proving again they are uninterested in lowering our deficit. Instead, their bill would only enact their MAGA agenda and roll back Democrats’ progress building a clean energy economy and creating a fair tax system, as well as to health, education, hunger, transportation, job training, and many other programs that tens of millions of Americans benefit from.
Republicans want to do even more harm, including cutting discretionary spending all federal programs and then arbitrarily capping those programs over the next decade to that by 2033, funding programs will continue to be funded below FY 2023 levels. These cuts will adversely impact ever part of our society, including seniors, veterans, and our children as federal agencies will be starved of the support they need to serve our communities and the American taxpayers. For example, these cuts will affect the Social Security Administration which already has long case backlogs adversely impacting the ability of the agency to provide services at field offices, potentially forcing some to close. I will remind everyone that the last time we imposed caps, at least five times in the ensuing decade, Congress had to come back and reach agreement to raise those caps because of the adverse impacts they were having on our communities.
This MAGA bill also doubles down on the trope-driven policies Republicans have been using for decades. The Default on America Act will add burdensome and unnecessary work requirements to our safety net programs on top of the ones that already exist. Let me be clear: most individuals who rely on our safety net programs do work. When Republicans talk in scornful language about programs like SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid, they need to remember who actually benefits from these programs: the elderly, people with disabilities, struggling families, women providing unpaid care, and children. The picture Republicans paint of a healthy, strong person who relies on these programs to bilk the system is so different from true lived experiences.
I cannot overstate how harmful this legislation would be and am thankful Leader Schumer has said this debt default bill will be dead on arrival in the Senate. But time is ticking. And I hope Republicans will finally get serious and help us move a debt limit increase that will help our nation pay for its outstanding obligations, rather than continue to engage in hostage taking.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore
For anyone interested in reading the actual act, you need to look up:
HR 2811
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Limit, Save, Grow Act
5 of 2023’’.
Nice of the congresswoman to use a fake name for the legislation so that her constituents are kept in the dark.
Republicans and Conservatives typically “rename” Democrat legislation, rather than use the name of the actual act, for the same reasons.
Also, the name of HR 2811 states the opposite of what it will do, as it would destroy the U.S. economy. Rep. Gwen Moore’s name is far more accurate.
What part of HR 2811 will destroy the US economy?
99.9% of the impact is right up front in Section 101, which requires reinstating DISCRETIONARY spending limits that expired at the end of 2021. (these DISCRETIONARY spending caps had previously been in effect for 10 years by a bipartisan law)
— for some history…..
DISCRETIONARY spending = 2011 both parties of Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 which established caps for discretionary spending.
MANDATORY spending = 2010 democrats proposed to reinstate PAYGO & Obama signed it into law to establish caps for mandatory program spending.
PAYGO still exists today for MANDATORY spending, but the BCA of 2011 expired at the end of 2021 and we no longer have caps for DISCRETIONARY spending.
From 2011 to 2021 both sides of Congress had to adhere to the spending rules they established themselves, and there is no evidence that in those 10 years the “US economy was destroyed”.
The PAYGO & BCA 2011 spending caps had been an invaluable protection for all Americans from politicians on both sides that believe they have a blank check to spend our money on whatever project they want to fund to buy votes (aka: get re-elected).
Sure, Congress still cheated and overspent by approx $2.5 – $3 trillion over those 10 years. Their primary strategy was to declare nearly everything an “emergency” or “terrorism” to skirt the rules.
– approx $900 billion on sh*t labelled “terrorism related” & the “War on Terror”
– approx $200 billion on “emergencies” or “disasters” declared
– approx $900 billon on Covid emergency
– approx $800 billion on just the annual random bullsh*%t they thought nobody would pay attention to
And after having their hands kept out of the American taxpayer cookie jar for 10 years, they spent like drunken sailors in less than 24 months…. to the tune of almost $3 trillion.
ALL POLITICIANS ARE THE SAME, THEY BUY VOTES TO STAY ELECTED.
Was the BCA 2011 system perfect…no is the answer. However at least we had some protection from the political class spending our money to enrich themselves.
I believe it is sensible to reinstate the discretionary spending caps.
HR2811 is a disaster for families living paycheck to paycheck and are financially stress medical debt. The bill dismisses the needs and concerns of our veterans and elderly. It drives even greater animosities between communities.
Quite frankly, the RRR (radical reactionary republicans) are only interested in deficit reduction when the wealthiest among us do NOT receive the lion’s share of the benefits. According to the RRR any legislation that supports working families, our rural communities, family farms, minority communities and the most vulnerable Americans is wasteful. They are against any funding that invests in our infrastructure, children, veterans, long term economic health, and our democratic institutions. They are for the return of the aristocracy.