The San Diego Congressional delegation split along party lines in Wednesday’s vote on a two-year budget and debt package, with both Republicans voting against the bipartisan compromise.
Congress voted to 266 to 167 to approve a two-year budget that raises federal spending levels and expands the government’s borrowing authority. If approved by the Senate, the United States will avoid a potentially catastrophic default on Nov. 3, and partisan budget battles will not return until after the 2016 elections.
Federal government spending would increase by $80 billion over two years, with half of the increase going to the military, which has suffered under sequestration caps imposed in 2011.
Democrats Susan Davis, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas voted for the package, while Republicans Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa rejected it. Issa said he voted against the measure because it amounts to “borrowing from the future in order to pay for our spending today.
“Americans expect Congress to be the force that reins in Washington’s out-of-control spending, including an administration that has grown our federal bureaucracy to record levels,” he said after the vote. “That means doing a better job of spending within our means, not creating new spending that abandons fiscal discipline to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
However, Davis said passage is good news for Americans, especially in “avoiding a disastrous default” by extending the debt limit.
“This bipartisan agreement is promising progress for working families and the American people,” she said. “Ultimately, the permanent end to sequestration, along with the economic uncertainty it creates, would have been preferable. However, this budget does provide critical investments in medical research, infrastructure, early education, and national security.”
The Senate is expected to take up the measure quickly, but it faces conservative opposition and Sen. Rand Paul, a presidential candidate, has threatened a filibuster.
