Milwaukee City Wire

“I resent that this extreme House GOP majority used their power to create a debt default crisis, holding the American people hostage and pushing our country to the brink of catastrophe unless their demands were met.

I voted to raise the debt ceiling three times under the Trump administration because I know that Congress must pay its bills and meet its obligations. I have supported bipartisan deals to raise the debt ceiling in the past.

I applaud President Biden and his skilled negotiating team for clawing back many of the Republicans’ most extreme and cruel demands. The House GOP’s Default on America Act would have been devastating to seniors, veterans, working families, and included cruel work requirements for Medicaid which would have taken health care from an estimated 600,000 Americans.

While this agreement doesn’t include many of the House GOP’s most damaging proposals, it does double down on their so-called work requirements. Study after study shows that work requirements are ineffective in their supposed goal of helping struggling Americans become gainfully employed. And historically, TANF’s specific work requirements have helped supply a low-wage workforce. These policies don’t trampoline people out of poverty but trap our most vulnerable in quicksand as a permanent underclass. I refuse to support the expansion of a failed policy, which will disproportionately hurt poor, Black women.

As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I was proud to support the Inflation Reduction Act’s IRS funding, to ensure this vital yet chronically underfunded agency had sufficient staffing to handle complex tax returns and offer quality taxpayer services. I am disturbed that Republicans want to continue sabotaging the IRS by stripping out needed funds, which only benefits wealthy tax cheats so they can continue to game the system.

At the same time, I understand why my colleagues supported this measure. The threat of a default has serious implications for the American people, our nation, our economy, and global markets. I don’t make this decision lightly. But I worry Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent and I cannot support their hostage negotiations. Republicans have a reckless habit of legislating through extortion, and it must stop.”

Original source can be found here.