Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) voted to pass H.R. 3746, the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, to prevent a devastating default while rejecting Republicans’ extreme demands to make deep cuts to programs that Alabama families rely on. The agreement, negotiated by President Biden, protects against cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ health care, historic infrastructure and climate investments, and the 40 million borrowers in President Biden’s student debt relief plan. It also prevents Republicans from manufacturing a similar crisis in the next two years by suspending the debt limit until January 1, 2025. The bill passed the House Wednesday night by a vote of 314-117 and now heads to the Senate.

Watch Rep. Sewell’s remarks here. 

“House Republicans could have passed a clean bill to address the debt ceiling months ago, but instead chose to hold the American people hostage and bring our economy to the brink of crisis in order to advance their extreme agenda,” said Rep. Sewell.

“To be clear, this bill is far from perfect,” continued Sewell. “But it prevents a default. It prevents future efforts to hold this nation hostage for the rest of the 118th Congress, and it prevents cruel Republican cuts. This budget agreement that President Biden negotiated protects funding for education, health care, veterans’ benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Most importantly, it prevents Republicans from forcing a devastating default that would kill countless jobs in my district and destroy our economy.”

“I join in expressing my frustration with the crisis that my Republican colleagues have manufactured. The American people deserve better than a Republican Majority that chooses to govern crisis-by-crisis.”

A section-by-section summary of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement is available here.