(Photo Credit: Louis Velazquez)
By: Omar Martinez Gonzalez, Sr. Manager, Policy & Advocacy
CHICAGO, IL – AIDS Foundation Chicago condemns in the strongest terms the dangerous bill to raise the debt ceiling which was passed by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. This bill, which passed by the razor thin margin of 217-215 and with all Democrats and four Republicans opposed, raises the debt ceiling only until March 2024 in exchange for slashing and freezing for ten years funding to federal health care, education, science and labor programs, prohibiting President Biden from waiving up to $10,000 from students’ loan debts, and imposing harmful and misguided work requirements for our lowest-income and most vulnerable citizens in order to keep their Medicaid and food stamp benefits.
This bill is dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and President Biden has vowed to veto it if it reaches his desk. Failing to deliver a budget plan to cut federal spending as they promised, the Republican majority chose instead to waste taxpayer money and critical time forcing through a senseless bill that demonstrates how little they value the well-being of the American people, and their blatant disregard for the economic security of our country.
AFC thanks all 14 Democratic Representatives from Illinois who voted against this bill and is disappointed that the three Republican Representatives from our state voted in favor. We urge you to call your Representative to ask them to pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and to not hold the country’s fiscal security hostage for political posturing. To find out who your congressional representative and senators are, click here.
