WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement after voting to oppose the debt limit deal:

“I made a promise to my residents when they sent me to Congress that I would never sell them out. I cannot vote for a bill that guts key environmental protections and greenlights dirty fossil fuel projects for corporate polluters who are poisoning our communities, pushes our residents deeper into poverty by implementing cruel and ineffective work requirements for our low-income neighbors who rely on SNAP and TANF for food and housing, terminates the student loan payment pause, and slashes IRS funding to make it easier for the rich to cheat on their taxes. It is extremely disappointing that this deal expedites the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and shields it from community accountability in the wake of the recent approval of the largest oil development project on federal land and at a time when bold climate action is critical.

“It is unfortunate that the Republican Party has become so extreme that we could not even find 5 commonsense Republicans to join us to vote for a clean debt ceiling increase like they’ve done 78 times in the past—49 times under Republican presidents, and 3 times under twice-impeached President Trump with no drama and no strings attached.

“Taking away $8 on average of food assistance per day from our older neighbors was never about reducing the deficit. It’s clear that this was nothing more than a GOP power stunt to force cruel cuts to the social safety net and extract concessions that could never otherwise move through Congress. This reckless political game was about helping their billionaire donors and wealthy corporations dodge taxes and pad record profits at the expense of the rest of us. If the GOP actually cared about wasteful spending, they wouldn’t be striking a deal to increase our already record-breaking military budget by another $28 billion. The GOP never asks how we’re going to pay for weapons and wars, but when it comes to lifting people out of poverty and providing a good life for our residents, they can’t ever find the votes.

“We cannot continue to capitulate to a far-right Republican Party and their extreme demands while they inflict policy violence on working class people, gut our bedrock environmental protections, and decimate our planet.”

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