Politics & Government

Congressman Joe Pitts Votes to Raise the Debt Ceiling

The Pennsylvania Congressman says the bill is not perfect, but paves the way for a balanced budget amendment.

Congressman Joe Pitts was one of 269 representatives to vote in favor of a bill before the house that would reduce government spending and increase the debt ceiling.

Pitts called the bill imperfect, but said that it would pave the way for an amendment to the Constitution forcing the federal government to carry a balanced budget.

Here is Pitts' complete statement below:

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"This legislation is far from perfect, but we have to remember that it was negotiated by two sides that have fundamental disagreements about the role of the federal government. On the positive side, this agreement has no job-destroying tax increases and has long-term spending cuts larger than the debt limit increase. Importantly, this legislation paves the way for a vote on a balanced budget amendment.

“However, this bill does not solve our budget problems. Congress still has a lot of work to do to bring our federal budget back into balance. We cannot pat ourselves on the back. We have to do better."


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