Schumer: Debt Bill ‘Beat Back the Worst of the Republican Agenda’

Schumer: “Overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats voted for the bill. A majority of Republicans voted against it. And it’s not just how Democrats carried the bill to the finish line, but why. Why did we get more votes? We got more votes because the bill beat back the worst of the Republican agenda. This exercise was a — basically, this was an exercise in where the American people were at, and they are much closer to where we are than where they are. Of course, nobody got everything they wanted. There was give on both sides. But this agreement was a very good outcome because it accomplished three extremely important goals. First and foremost, we prevented a catastrophic default that would have decimated our economy, raised cost, and inflicted immense unnecessary pain on tens and tens and tens of millions of American families. Second, the bill preserves the lion’s share of the historic investments we have made to grow our economy, fix our infrastructure, make the U.S. more competitive on the world stage — which the Republican caucus in the House seemed intent on tearing down. They didn’t get to do that. And third, and very importantly, we did a very good job of taking the worst parts of the Republican plan that would have hurt so many families and we took those worst parts off the table. Let me say it again. Tonight’s vote is a good outcome because Democrats did a very good job taking the worst parts of the Republican plan off the table. And that’s why Dems voted overwhelmingly for this bill, while Republicans, certainly in the Senate, did not. Remember what House Republicans originally wanted when they showed us their plan, and compare it to the bill we are now sending to the president’s desk. The difference is as stark as night and day. Republicans want to gut investments we made in the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act, that are driving a new generation of American manufacturing, billions of and billions of investments and thousands upon thousands of jobs. We fought and fought. That ain’t happening. The hard-right MAGA Republicans wanted to cut critical investments by as much as 30%, cut all these vital programs by 30%. As we say in Brooklyn, NFW. That ain’t happening. Republicans wanted to put default back on the table in a few months. That ain’t happening.”