Thompson votes to avoid government default
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
On Wednesday, Lake County’s representative in the House of Representatives joined the majority of House members in voting for a bill to avoid a government default.
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) voted to pass H.R. 3746, the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, which his office said will “avoid a catastrophic default and protect America’s economy.”
“A default would have pushed our economy into an unprecedented crisis and harmed communities in our district and across our country,” said Thompson. “I voted for the Bipartisan Budget Agreement to avoid a default and keep our economy strong. There are provisions of the bill I don’t like, but in a divided government, negotiation requires compromise. This bill saves us from an economic disaster that would harm every family in America, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to address the shortcomings of this bill with the potential economic default behind us.”
Rep. Thompson spoke on the House floor during debate of this legislation.
During his remarks, Thompson said the American people cannot afford a default, which he called “an economic disaster with consequences for every one of our constituents. Congress can’t let that happen.”
He emphasized that while the bill isn’t perfect, it achieves two key points: It prevents default, averting an economic disaster, and it preserves not only key programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but also protects climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Thompson authored with his colleagues in the Ways and Means Committee.
It also preserves the PACT Act, which preserves veterans health care.
Thompson said he was concerned with aspects of the bill, noting he was particularly opposed to the demand by Republicans to cut mental health care which, after climate change, is the single biggest crisis in the United States.
“There is no reason to cut critical funding for mental health,” Thompson said.
He said the cuts to the Internal Revenue Service won’t decrease the deficit but will increase it. “A fully funded IRS is in everyone’s best interest,” Thompson said.
“Overall, this legislation is a compromise, which is what the American people expect and deserve from a divided government,” Thompson said.
“And most important, it averts the catastrophe of a default,” he added, urging his colleagues to vote for the bill.
With its passage by the House, the bill now moves to the Senate.
Thompson previously pointed out the impacts that a default would have on the Fourth District, including killing 7,300 jobs in district alone — and more than seven million nationwide — and also would jeopardize Social Security payments for 91,000 families in the district, put health benefits at risk for 285,000 people who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health coverage, increase the lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in California by $92,000, raise the costs of a new-car loan for the typical American by $800 and threaten the retirement savings of 96,800 people near retirement in the Fourth district, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.
Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.
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