Bowman Votes No on Budget Compromise in Congress

Most of the folks we spoke to in Scarsdale were concerned about the deadlock in Congress over the raising of the debt ceiling. They feared that if the government could not agree on a bill to raise the debt ceiling and failed to meet their financial obligations it would cause a meltdown in our economy, deeply affecting our lives.

However, this view was not shared by all. In fact Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents Scarsdale in the House, saw it another way. He voted against the compromise deal, objecting to its ramifications for America’s neediest.

Here is a statement he issued on June 1, following the May 31, 2023 vote in the house to raise the debt ceiling:

“Tonight, after House Republicans held our economy and the American people hostage for months, Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (NY-16) joined dozens of Democratic colleagues in voting against an austerity bill that maliciously weaponizes the debt limit.

Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (NY-16) released the following statement in response:
“The ability of the United States government to meet its obligations should never be in doubt. But Republicans have tried to disillusion the American people by manufacturing a political crisis over the debt limit in order to circumvent the normal budget process and pursue their goals undemocratically. Americans deserve to know that throughout these negotiations, Republicans' only agenda was to slash programs for working families and vulnerable Americans, so they could continue to hand those dollars to rich donors. I appreciate that President Biden fought off their most extreme demands and won some important concessions. But this process was designed to rely primarily on Republican votes. Like many of my colleagues, I cannot in good conscience endorse a bill that unnecessarily pairs a debt limit increase with attacks on the poor and marginalized, and that threatens our shared future with more giveaways to the fossil fuel industry.”

“This harmful agreement revokes $28 billion in COVID-19 relief funds, wipes out over $20 billion for the IRS to ensure rich tax cheats can’t get away with robbing Americans, imposes cruel and racist work requirements on older adults who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and undermines national environmental law while jamming through the Mountain Valley Pipeline. It is anything but fiscally responsible: it effectively cuts a wide range of domestic programs that keep our economy strong, yet allows the military budget to continue to balloon and fails to make the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share. We should have never been here in the first place, but President Biden has numerous options for executive action to ensure that Republicans can never again hold our country hostage. I am saddened to see how these negotiations went, but my constituents and people across the country deserve to be able to put food on their tables.”