House & Senate – “No” on Debt Limit Increase
Key Vote Alert
House & Senate – “No” on Debt Limit Increase
The Club for Growth urges all Representatives and Senators to vote NO on the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act. The results of this vote will be included in the Club for Growth Foundation’s 2023 congressional scorecard.
The Club for Growth opposes the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act, which suspends the debt limit through January 1, 2025. The American people deserve transparency with exactly how much debt Congress is approving in this bill, and a debt limit suspension fails to provide that transparency because unlimited debt can be added until January 1, 2025. Although estimates vary on precisely how much debt will be accrued by 2025, an emerging consensus among budget experts estimates at least $4 trillion of new debt will be added to the national debt. This provision is not a policy provision, but is a political concession to President Biden to allow the Presidential Election to be completed before the next debt limit increase. President Biden should stop using the full faith and credit of the United States as a political wedge between the American People and the fiscal health of the U.S. economy.
Speaker McCarthy and House conservatives valiantly demonstrated how irresponsible and out-of-touch the radical left has become by highlighting the economic devastation wrought by unified Democrat government with excessive spending leading to Bidenflation. With the new Republican House Majority, House Republicans proved they could maintain a majority coalition and pass a bill that would increase the debt limit even though the Limit, Save, Grow Act was not perfect.
Unfortunately, the bipartisan agreement resulting in the Fiscal Responsibility Act continues a march slowly speeding off a cliff toward the fiscal crisis enabled by the unsustainable national debt. Similar to when President Biden and the Democrats named their Green New Deal scheme in August 2022 the “Inflation Reduction Act”, the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” is a misleadingly named bill which is not actually fiscally responsible because it continues trillion-dollar deficits every year in the future. Congress needs a plan to pay down the national debt, not a plan that kicks the can down the road. Washington must end trillion-dollar deficits, end the national debt crisis, and end Big Government. This bill does not accomplish that mission. Club for Growth strongly encourages Congress to live within its means with a balanced budget that ultimately results in annual surpluses in order to pay down the national debt.
The negotiation also fails to include the REINS Act, which Club for Growth passionately supports. Although the bill includes administrative PAYGO which could limit some burdensome regulation, the bill allows for the Director of OMB to waive the provision, and does not allow for legal challenges. Moreover, while the bill takes steps toward providing for strengthened work requirements in TANF and SNAP which could result in a higher labor participation rate, the bill does not include Medicaid work requirements.
The agreement with President Biden also leaves in place most of his massive expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The woke and weaponized workers in the IRS and other federal agencies carrying out the Marxist schemes of the radical left are left in place to continue their evil crusade against the American Dream.
American families face an uncertain future caused in large part by the intrusion and growth of the federal government, which was exacerbated during the COVID19 pandemic. This bill fails to revert spending levels back to pre-COVID levels as projected by CBO in early 2020. Club for Growth unabashedly supports and champions economic liberty, opportunity, and freedom and stands with Members of Congress defending those principles. We encourage President Biden to abandon the radical leftists dragging his party toward socialism and resume negotiations that will end the national debt crisis.
Club for Growth Foundation’s Congressional Scorecard for the 118th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to the public.
Vote Results
Club Position
No
Required for Majority
1/2
Vote Results
Passed
Vote Number
146
Vote Date
June 1, 2023
Vote Counts
YEAs:
63
NAYs:
36
Not Voting:
1
Tammy Baldwin
WI
D
Y
John Barrasso
WY
R
N
Michael Bennet
CO
D
Y
Marsha Blackburn
TN
R
N
Richard Blumenthal
CT
D
Y
Cory Booker
NJ
D
Y
John Boozman
AR
R
Y
Mike Braun
IN
R
N
Katie Britt
AL
R
N
Sherrod Brown
OH
D
Y
Ted Budd
NC
R
N
Maria Cantwell
WA
D
Y
Shelley Moore Capito
WV
R
Y
Benjamin Cardin
MD
D
Y
Thomas Carper
DE
D
Y
Bob Casey
PA
D
Y
Bill Cassidy
LA
R
N
Susan Collins
ME
R
Y
Christopher Coons
DE
D
Y
John Cornyn
TX
R
Y
Catherine Cortez Masto
NV
D
Y
Tom Cotton
AR
R
N
Kevin Cramer
ND
R
Y
Mike Crapo
ID
R
N
Ted Cruz
TX
R
N
Steve Daines
MT
R
N
Tammy Duckworth
IL
D
Y
Richard Durbin
IL
D
Y
Joni Ernst
IA
R
Y
Dianne Feinstein
CA
D
Y
John Fetterman
PA
D
N
Deb Fischer
NE
R
N
Kirsten Gillibrand
NY
D
Y
Lindsey Graham
SC
R
N
Chuck Grassley
IA
R
Y
Bill Hagerty
TN
R
A
Maggie Hassan
NH
D
Y
Josh Hawley
MO
R
N
Martin Heinrich
NM
D
Y
John Hickenlooper
CO
D
Y
Mazie Hirono
HI
D
Y
John Hoeven
ND
R
Y
Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS
R
N
Ron Johnson
WI
R
N
Tim Kaine
VA
D
Y
Mark Kelly
AZ
D
Y
John Kennedy
LA
R
N
Angus King
ME
I
Y
Amy Klobuchar
MN
D
Y
James Lankford
OK
R
N
Mike Lee
UT
R
N
Ben Lujan
NM
D
Y
Cynthia Lummis
WY
R
N
Joe Manchin
WV
D
Y
Edward Markey
MA
D
N
Roger Marshall
KS
R
N
Mitch McConnell
KY
R
Y
Robert Menendez
NJ
D
Y
Jeff Merkley
OR
D
N
Jerry Moran
KS
R
Y
Markwayne Mullin
OK
R
Y
Lisa Murkowski
AK
R
Y
Christopher Murphy
CT
D
Y
Patty Murray
WA
D
Y
Thomas Ossoff
GA
D
Y
Alex Padilla
CA
D
Y
Rand Paul
KY
R
N
Gary Peters
MI
D
Y
Jack Reed
RI
D
Y
Pete Ricketts
NE
R
N
Jim Risch
ID
R
N
Mitt Romney
UT
R
Y
Jacky Rosen
NV
D
Y
Mike Rounds
SD
R
Y
Marco Rubio
FL
R
N
Bernie Sanders
VT
I
N
Brian Schatz
HI
D
Y
Eric Schmitt
MO
R
N
Chuck Schumer
NY
D
Y
Rick Scott
FL
R
N
Tim Scott
SC
R
N
Jeanne Shaheen
NH
D
Y
Kyrsten Sinema
AZ
I
Y
Tina Smith
MN
D
Y
Debbie Stabenow
MI
D
Y
Dan Sullivan
AK
R
N
Jon Tester
MT
D
Y
John Thune
SD
R
Y
Thom Tillis
NC
R
Y
Tommy Tuberville
AL
R
N
Chris Van Hollen
MD
D
Y
J.D. Vance
OH
R
N
Mark Warner
VA
D
Y
Raphael Warnock
GA
D
Y
Elizabeth Warren
MA
D
N
Peter Welch
VT
D
Y
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI
D
Y
Roger Wicker
MS
R
N
Ron Wyden
OR
D
Y
Todd Young
IN
R
Y