How Will MA U.S. Delegation Vote On Debt Ceiling Agreement?

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the Massachusetts Democrat delegation largely supported President Joe Biden's efforts in negotiating a pending agreement with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avert a default on Wednesday, it was unclear ahead of the votes whether that bill will receive universal support from the state's legislators.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Boston) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Cambridge) both expressed deep reservations about a provision in the agreement that would force the resumption of student loan payments — which have been frozen since the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis in March 2020 — in September regardless of the outcome of pending court decision on President Biden's authority to grant student loan relief to those in debt.

"Republicans are pushing to not only block (President Biden's) student debt relief plan, they also want to force 40 million borrowers to immediately pay back paused student loans and interest and claw back debt relief from public servants," Warren said. "It's a slap in the face to working people."

Pressley went so far as to present an amendment to the debt ceiling agreement that would strike the student loan provision from it ahead of an expected U.S. House vote Wednesday night.

"The student loan payment pause has been an essential lifeline for workers and families struggling to make ends meet," she said in a statement Wednesday morning. "My amendment would protect student borrowers while also affirming the president's clear legal authority to implement payment pauses, broad-based debt cancellation, and other critical relief measures."

Her amendment would also reaffirm the ability to implement future pauses.

Rep. Pressley did not indicate if she would vote in favor of the debt ceiling bill if her amendment fails.

The agreement was expected to receive enough support to pass and avert a default in the U.S. House on Wednesday before moving on to the U.S. Senate and then President Biden's desk ahead of a June 5 default deadline, with some members of the conservative Republican caucus and progressive Democrat caucus in the House saying they cannot support the compromise.

U.S. House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Revere) said at a news conference on Tuesday that while her party will not let the vote fail, it is up to Speaker McCarthy to deliver votes from his majority.

"It's Democrats who have always been clear: we will not allow this country to suffer a devastating default," Clark said. "The question is whether Republicans will decide to join us and do the right thing.

"There is no perfect negotiation when you are the victim of extortion. Nobody like to pay a ransom note, and that's exactly what (Tuesday night's) vote is: Our payment on the ransom of the American people."

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) said he will support the agreement.

"It's not a perfect bill, and every one of us can find things in it we don't like, but I will be voting for the legislation because it is the right thing to do for our country," Moulton said in a statement on Wednesday. "This bill is a compromise. There are provisions included that I support, and others that I am against — like reducing desperately needed IRS funding to crack down on tax cheats.

"A lot of my colleagues don't seem to get the concept of compromise," Moulton later posted on Twitter. "Yes, we need to make more tough decisions about spending and revenue, but not on the brink of an unprecedented default. Congress should pass this bill today so that we can move on from this manufactured crisis."

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) said on Tuesday: "This is not a happy day."

"We should have taken care of this months ago," McGovern said on the House floor. "This represents an all-time in recklessness and stupidity, quite frankly.

"This bill could have been a lot more awful than it is."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)