Rep Scanlon Votes No On 'Extremist' Republican Debt Limit Bill

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-5th District) called the Republican-led debt limit bill "extremist" and voted against the measure Wednesday.

The bill, which passed the House Wednesday 217-215, would the debt limit to $31.4 trillion if it were to be approved in the Senate.

However, with Democrats controlling the Senate, the bill is not expected to move forward.

"This extremist Republican bill manufactures a false choice in order to force cuts to programs that the Republican majority does not support," she said. "Rather than seeking solutions to the issues faced by Americans, like affordable health and child care, gun safety, and climate rescue, Republicans are threatening to wreck our economy, either by defaulting on US financial obligations or by gutting supports that provide economic opportunity to everyone, from the bottom up and the middle out."

Scanlon accused Republicans of playing political games and seeking to impose cuts to nondefense discretionary spending, including social safety net programs and climate rescue provisions, in exchange for less than a year of protection from a default on the nation’s financial obligations.

According to her office, the bill would put 519,000 people at risk of losing Medicaid coverage in Pennsylvania, threaten access to food assistance for 40,000 people aged 50-55 in Pennsylvania, and increase housing costs for at least 23,800 people in Pennsylvania.

"I voted no on H.R. 2811 because it's time to stop playing political games, save our economy, and responsibly invest in America to lower costs and create better-paying jobs," she said.