Scott Votes with Majority on Debt Deal

On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate passed the federal debt ceiling agreement with a vote of 74-26, with Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson voting with the majority. Saxby Chambliss was one of 11 GOP senators to vote no. 

The agreement barely beats a deadline under which the U.S. government would have defaulted for the first time in history, but members of Congress on both sides of the vote, from both parties and both chambers all agreed it is far from ideal. 

Democrat David Scott, who represents South Cobb and part of Smyrna, voted with the majority as the House voted 269-161 in favor a measure that would cut an estimated $1 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade. 

But that bill, which creates a 12-member Congressional committee to oversee the plan, was missing what conservatives have called "Cut, Cap and Balance" legislation.

Scott's party caucus was split 95-95, with many of his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus strongly opposed to the agreement they fear will unfairly disadvantage the elderly, poor and jobless and stall efforts to improve the economy. 

But the biggest dramatics of the night drew wild bipartisan applause when Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona unexpectedly arrived on the floor to vote for the agreement. 

It was Giffords' first appearance in the chamber since she was shot in the head during a January assassination attempt that killed seven others, including a federal judge.  

Isakson wanted more spending cuts, but said the agreement is "a first step in the right direction."

Chambliss, part of the bipartisan "Gang of Six" that worked on spending cut proposals in the Senate, said the approved measure "does not address the actual debt:" 

"The enforcement provisions that are supposed to lead to decreased spending are simply not strong enough. The bill includes self-imposed spending caps, but does not provide a robust-enough procedure to ensure that those caps are not violated."