Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to oppose the deal reached by the president and congressional leadership to raise the budget caps and suspend the debt ceiling, citing our growing federal debt and concern about saddling the next generation with more taxes and debt. He blasted the deal, releasing the following statement:

“I voted against this budget deal because it maintains a pattern of irresponsibly borrowing money to pay expenses. I was an outspoken opponent of the Republican tax bill in 2017 because it added nearly $2 trillion to the debt. Earlier this month, I opposed the repeal of the Cadillac tax; we did not even have a conversation about how this loss of revenue will affect health care costs for millions of Americans. Today’s budget deal is projected to balloon the deficit by as much as $1.7 trillion over the next decade. The minimal revenue replacement included in this bill won’t even pay for the interest the budget deal itself creates.

“Massive debt isn’t a theoretical problem—it has real consequences. As our national debt approaches the size of our economy, we are less equipped to invest in the future and respond to national emergencies. And debt is no longer a long-term challenge; we face it today. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, next year we will spend more on interest than we do on children. And in five years we will spend more on interest than we spend on national defense. 

“The time to address this problem was today, weeks before we had to raise the debt ceiling. We failed our children. I remain committed to finding fiscally responsible solutions that both fund our nation’s priorities and don’t set us up for catastrophe. That task is much more difficult because of today’s vote.”

Named a Fiscal Hero in 2018 by the Campaign to Fix the Debt, Rep. Peters has championed efforts to build responsible budgets. He was named to the Budget Committee earlier this year, where he advocates for smart and fiscally tenable policy decisions. In 2017, he voted against the Republican tax bill, which is projected to add $1.9 trillion to the national debt over a decade.