Rep. Calvert Votes to Reopen Government, Avoid Default
Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued the following statement after the House vote on the bipartisan Senate agreement to reopen the federal government and avoid a national default:
"Tonight I voted to avoid default and to maintain global confidence in the U.S. economy. It was not an easy vote, but rejecting the Senate proposal would have meant asking the Obama Administration to handle a default situation. The President's punitive actions during the government shutdown, such as barricading war memorials, left me with absolutely no confidence that he could manage a default responsibly and would in fact use the opportunity to further hurt our economy and the American people.
As part of the Senate legislation, Republicans were able to maintain the sequester spending levels in the Budget Control Act which has resulted in a reduction in total federal discretionary spending for two years in a row for the first time since the Korean War. The deal also requires that the members of the budget conference approve a report by December 15th. That discussion and report must address the rising costs of our mandatory spending programs, which are the real drivers of our debt. Unless we deal with and strengthen programs like Medicare and Social Security, we jeopardize both the viability of the programs themselves and the American economy. Despite media attempts to portray House Republicans as fractured, and there are times when we do disagree on tactics, we remain united as ever on the end goal: reducing government spending, addressing entitlement and tax reform, rolling back the size and scope of the federal government, and passing pro-growth policies that will help our economy and all Americans.
The temporary deal also means that the American people will continue to have the opportunity to voice their outrage over ObamaCare. I call on all citizens to continue to share their experiences with ObamaCare which, as Sen. Max Bachus (D-MT) predicted, is a huge "train wreck." President Obama, through granting various waivers and extensions to certain parts of our society, has at least tacitly acknowledged that his signature legislation is deeply flawed. Since its roll out, ObamaCare has not just demonstrated that it has technical glitches but is substantively defective: Americans shopping for plans see that they are going to experience higher rates, higher deductibles, and higher co-pays while receiving substandard care. The fight to delay and ultimately repeal and replace ObamaCare is not over; elections have consequences and next November will be an opportunity for Americans to voice their rejection of ObamaCare.
Tonight's vote reflects the difficulty of having only one of three seats at the negotiating table. House Republicans took a strong stance in an attempt to have a serious discussion about our country's serious fiscal challenges and the many concerns surrounding the implementation of ObamaCare. To the detriment of our nation, President Obama and Senate Democrats lacked the political courage to have this discussion. Over the next three months, we will push that discussion and press our issues, as the American people expect us to do."