DELAURO: DEBT CEILING DEAL WILL MEAN SLOWER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND FEWER JOBS

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) Ranking Member on the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement today in response to the passage of the Budget Control Act (S. 365), the debt ceiling deal. The legislation will now need to be passed by the Senate, and signed into law by President Obama.

"I am glad that we passed an agreement in time to avoid default - the consequences of which would have been disastrous for middle class families. And while I did earlier support a more responsible version of the agreement raising the debt ceiling, I could not support this legislation as I believe it will have a harmful effect on job creation and further weaken the economic security of millions of American families.

"The spending cuts specified in this deal will slash critical investments in education, infrastructure and research, among other things— public investments critical to job creation and economic growth. The majority's insistence that these priorities are to blame for our deficit problems is simply untrue. The primary reasons deficits have grown so large is because revenues are lower than they have been in sixty years, thanks to the recession and the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy, and we initiated two wars on the nation's credit card. If this majority were at all serious about deficit reduction, they would at least allow for additional revenue by asking the wealthiest Americans and corporate special interests to share in the sacrifice rather than protecting them.

"Without assurances that Congress will pursue a balanced approach, the additional cuts called for in a few short months as part of the agreement will threaten the promises made to generations of hard-working Americans by ending Medicare as we know it, cutting Medicaid, and compromising the future of Social Security. I could not in good conscience support such an unbalanced approach that places the burden of deficit reduction on the backs of middle class families and our seniors while further weakening our shaky economy."