WASHINGTON, DC— Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement regarding his vote in favor of the bipartisan compromise to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.
“Tonight, I voted in favor of the debt limit compromise. Compromise is never pretty, and this bill is no cause for celebration. But we achieved several important things tonight. Most importantly, we have removed the calamitous specter of a default that would have devastated our economy and hurt every American family and business. We also removed both the threat of another absurd and dangerous debt ceiling fight, and deflected the House majority’s attack on Medicare and Medicaid. The cuts in this bill will be painful, but the bill protects critical programs that support education and our neediest citizens. The defense and security budgets will participate in helping us solve our fiscal challenge in a way that should hasten our withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. The sad fact is that this bill, while an important first step in solving that challenge, is inadequate to the magnitude of that challenge. In the coming months I expect that the President, the Congress, and the committee mandated by this bill will work for a more balanced, equitable, and comprehensive solution.”