In the News

 

 

By Jim Myers

 

Washington — Wisconsin's congressional delegation split mostly along party lines Wednesday on a bipartisan deal to reopen the government, extend the debt limit and turn over negotiations on a long-term budget agreement to a committee expected to be co-chaired by Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Janesville, who voted against the proposal.

 

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin voted yes, while Republican Sen. Ron Johnson voted no.

 

In the House, Ryan joined fellow Republican Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri and Sean Duffy in opposing the bill; Republican Rep. Reid Ribble voted yes.

 

Democratic Reps. Gwen Moore, Mark Pocan and Ron Kind supported the measure.

 

Ryan described the bill as a missed opportunity.

 

"To pay our bills today, and to make sure we can pay our bills tomorrow, we must make a down payment on the debt," he said.

 

"Today's legislation won't help us reduce our fast-growing debt. In fact, it could extend the debt ceiling well into next year, further delaying any action."

 

Instead of a breakthrough, Ryan said, Congress just kicked the can down the road.

 

"That said, I hope both sides will work together in the months ahead to pay down the debt, provide relief for families, and grow the economy," he said.

 

On Thursday, Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, is scheduled to meet with the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the panel's ranking member.

 

Ribble issued an unusually lengthy statement after the House vote, saying he cast his vote after listening to "concerns and input of thousands of citizens in the district."

 

"While there were parts of the bill I opposed, I have chosen to give the Congress a 90-day opportunity to actually work within a framework to budget and appropriate funds in regular order and end the nonsense of continuing resolutions," he said.

 

Johnson repeatedly has said he did not want to play brinkmanship with the nation's economy.

 

"We are getting zero fiscal discipline," the senator said, adding he needed to see something on long-term debt and changes to entitlement spending. "That's a pretty easy call for me."

 

He described it as immoral for any agreement to fail to address the nation's long-term debt issue, saying kicking the budget can down the road leaves that burden for future generations.

 

Johnson said he has no confidence such issues will be tackled by the upcoming budget talks because Democrats, especially President Barack Obama, refuse to address them. The senator said he is willing to take the political risk linked to such action and challenged Obama to seize a historic moment.

 

The first termer said he wanted to stress one point to Wisconsinites back home: "This place really is as dysfunctional as it appears."

 

 

Baldwin said the bipartisan agreement will provide the economy with the stability and certainty it desperately needs, expressing hope that it will break a destructive pattern in Washington of drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next.

 

"Now is the time for both parties to work together to pass a responsible budget that invests in the middle class, strengthens our economy and reduces the deficit without shortchanging our future," she said.

 

In the House, Moore said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers put politics aside and voted in the best interests of the country.

 

"Once President Obama signs the legislation into law, the government shutdown will end and a global economic disaster will be averted," she said.

 

"Although I am pleased that the impasse has finally ended after 16 days of partisan action, we must remember that this dysfunction should have never occurred."

 

Pocan and Kind expressed deep frustration at the damage already done.

 

"The adults in Congress have finally taken our government back, but not before we have done needless damage to our economy and the public's faith in the democratic process," Pocan said. "While I am pleased we have come to a pragmatic and bipartisan solution, we cannot continue to lurch from one manufactured crisis to another and wait until the last minute to act."

 

Kind called for an end to "self-inflicted crisis" on the U.S. and world economy, calling the government shutdown and threatened default a "terrible wound" on the nation's global prestige.

 

"It's time to reopen our government and get it working for the American people again," Kind said. "We have to pay our bills."

 

Petri said he wanted the showdown to produce a concrete plan for reducing the deficit and a serious way to get the nation's finances in order.

 

"Unfortunately, I don't see that in this deal...," Petri said. "If history is any indication, I'd say we'll be facing these same issues again next year."

 

Duffy said raising the debt ceiling does not solve the fundamental problem that the federal government spends more money than it takes in.

 

"That is why I conditioned my vote to raise the debt ceiling on the inclusion of reforms to address our spending, specifically our ballooning entitlement spending, including the latest entitlement — Obamacare," Duffy said.