Congresswoman Shontel M. Brown | Shontel M. Brown Official Website
Congresswoman Shontel M. Brown | Shontel M. Brown Official Website
WASHINGTON, D.C. –On May 2, Representative Shontel Brown (OH-11) joined Representatives Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Susan Wild (PA-07), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), and Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13) at a press conference to explain how House Democrats are working to prevent a default on the debt that would cause devastating impacts on working families in Ohio and Pennsylvania while protecting vital investments that lower costs and create better-paying jobs.
Last week, House Republicans passed a bill that inflicts cruel cuts on American families. In Ohio alone, House Republicans' extreme demands will:
- Put 421,000 people at risk of losing Medicaid coverage in Ohio.
- Threaten access to food assistance for 39,000 people aged 50-55 in Ohio.
- Eliminate preschool and child care for at least 12,300 children in Ohio.
- Increase housing costs for at least 23,300 people in Ohio.
- Make college more expensive for at least 198,300 students in Ohio.
- Eliminate at least 5 air traffic control towers in Ohio.
- Cut at least 330 rail safety inspection days in Ohio.
- Repeal investments in cleaner, cheaper energy — threatening at least 3,900 clean energy and manufacturing jobs announced in Ohio since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Reduce access to outpatient care at Veterans Affairs medical facilities by approximately 1,082,645 visits in Ohio.
- Kill about 7,500 jobs in OH-11 alone. Nationwide, a default could kill more than 7 million jobs.
- Jeopardize Social Security payments for 107,000 families in OH-11.
- Put health benefits at risk for 362,000 people in OH-11 who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs health coverage.
- Increase lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner in Ohio by $30,000.
- Raise the costs of a new car loan for the typical American by $800.
- Threaten the retirement savings of 104,200 people near retirement in OH-11, eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.
"Let's get one thing straight: the full faith and credit of the United States should never be used as a bargaining chip," said Representative Shontel Brown (OH-11). "Pitting the preservation of our nation's credit against slashing lifeline programs for working families isn't just an impossible choice—but an immoral ploy. House Democrats have a plan to protect lifeline services crucial to everyday Americans, and we're ready to build on the successes of the 117th Congress—but we can't do it alone. As a coalition builder in Congress, I hope to work with House Republicans to achieve a solution that protects the welfare of Northeast Ohioans: not make it harder for working families to make ends meet."
“House Republicans are playing budget shenanigans at the risk of blunting economic growth and hurting countless Ohioans. Speaker McCarthy’s budget bait and switch is creating instability that will yield disastrous consequences for students, families, seniors, veterans, and public safety across our Buckeye State,” said Representative Marcy Kaptur (OH-09). “I stand with hard-working Americans on Main Street, not the profiteers and scions of Wall Street. I am ready to work with my Republican colleagues to pay our bills and prevent a default on our debt — but I will not agree to cruel cuts that make life harder for hard-working Ohio families.”
“Last week, D.C. Republicans put forward a bill with unacceptable, extreme cuts that put the full faith and credit of the United States at risk. It wasn’t a reasonable first shot at negotiating a deal to protect our economy. It was an appeasement to the most extreme members of their conference,” said Representative Susan Wild (PA-05). “The laws my colleagues and I passed over the last two years were examples of our priorities—reducing the deficit, lowering health care costs, creating 12.6 million jobs, investing in American manufacturing, supporting first responders, and keeping our promise to take care of veterans. People in our districts sent us to Washington to make their lives better, not put our entire economy at risk. I know that I and my colleagues are willing to work across the aisle to avert an economic crisis, but the bill put forward last week only pushed us closer to the brink.”
“Rather than advancing real solutions to the most pressing problems our communities face, Republicans are threatening to wreck our economy by either forcing a default on our debt or gutting the programs our families, seniors, and veterans rely on,” said Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05). “Democrats remain ready to work together with Republicans to pay our bills, but we will not allow American families to be held hostage. It’s time to invest in America – lowering costs and creating better-paying jobs – while ensuring billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.”
“Instead of working to avoid an economic disaster, House Republicans passed severe and devastating cuts that would be catastrophic for the people of Ohio’s 13th District. These cuts would rip away healthcare and food assistance from hardworking Ohioans, kill thousands of jobs, and endanger the safety and security of our communities. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Congress can pay the nation’s bills and prevent a default on our debt, all while protecting the vital programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid that children, seniors, veterans, and families rely on. My colleagues and I are ready to work across the aisle to implement a bipartisan solution that invests in the American people, lowers everyday costs, and reduces the deficit,” said Representative Sykes (OH-13).
Original source can be found here.
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