I was one of 165 Democrats to vote yes for the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which ultimately passed the House earlier this month in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 314-117 vote. Raising the debt ceiling saved the U.S. economy from potential catastrophe. Democrats faced a Hobson’s choice or the illusion that multiple choices exist when, in reality, there was only one.
The alternatives that opponents of the bill claimed existed were false choices.
The idea that Democrats — who are now in a slim minority in the House — could raise the debt ceiling with no strings attached flew in the face of the reality House Republicans have created. My Democratic colleagues and I were in full support of a so-called “clean” bill. Every Democrat signed a petition to try to force a vote on this bill, but not a single Republican joined the effort.
