How local Congress members voted on the debt ceiling deal
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The majority of Delaware Valley Congress members voted in favor of legislation that suspends the debt ceiling and limits spending. The bill, which received sweeping bipartisan support, passed the GOP-majority House Wednesday and the Democrat-majority Senate late Thursday evening. Now, it is off to President Joe Biden's desk to avoid a U.S. government default.
The votes in the House for the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 came in at 314-117. Among Republicans, 149 voted for the bill and 71 voted against it, while 165 Democrats voted for the legislation and 46 voted against it.
In the Senate, the votes came in at 63-36. In total, 17 Republicans and 44 Democrats supported the measure, while 31 Republicans and 4 Democrats opposed it. Before the final passage, the Senate also voted on 11 amendments to the bill, all of which failed.
Biden, who negotiated the bill with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, called the bill "good news for the American people and the American economy."
The deal would suspend the debt limit until the first quarter of 2025, after the 2024 elections. This means the next fight over the debt ceiling has been left for the next president and Congress.
The legislation would end a student loan repayment freeze that has been in place during the pandemic, impose stricter work requirements for food stamps, claw back some funding from the IRS and unspent COVID relief funds, and speed up new energy projects.
Biden has vowed in the past he would veto any legislation targeting his student loan relief program.
The vote breakdown
Of the six Senators in the Delaware Valley, all but one supported the bill. Here's the breakdown of how they voted:
- Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.): No
- Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.): Yes
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.): Yes
- Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.): Yes
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.): Yes
- Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.): Yes
Fetterman published a Twitter thread shortly after the bill's passage in the Senate to explain his opposition. The senator said that he did not agree to the SNAP restrictions outlined in the bill.
"I won't give Republicans an opening to try and take food from more food insecure Americans in Farm Bill negotiations later this year. That is why I voted no tonight," Fetterman said in a tweet.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the food supplement programs for needy families impacted by the bill.
A similar outcome was seen among the 11 House members in the Delaware Valley. All but one also supported the bill. Here's the breakdown of how they voted:
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa. District 1): Yes
- Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa. District 2): Yes
- Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa. District 3): Yes
- Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa. District 4): Yes
- Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa. District 5): Yes
- Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa. District 6): Yes
- Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa. District 7): Yes
- Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J. District 1): Yes
- Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-N.J. District 2): No
- Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J. District 3): Yes
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del. At-Large District): Yes
As an outlier among his counterparts, Van Drew tweeted his opposition to the bill and instead cited his support for the GOP's Limit, Save, Grow Act.
The Limit, Save, Grow Act was the Republican's original bill aiming to tackle the debt ceiling and limit government spending. However, the reality of bipartisan support was slim considering that the bill passed the House last month without Democratic support.
It has been a rocky road to securing the passage of the prevailing debt ceiling bill.
Earlier Wednesday, a rule to move the legislation forward briefly appeared in danger of failing, with nearly 30 Republicans voting against it. More than 50 Democrats ended up supporting the rule, clearing the way for a vote on final passage later that day.
In the Senate, however, both sides acknowledged that the deal was far from perfect but necessary to avoid a disastrous default.
If the debt ceiling was not raised, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had said the U.S. risked default as soon as June 5.
