{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-votes-support-bipartisan-budget-agreement-avoid-disastrous", "Rep. Cleaver Votes to Support Bipartisan Budget Agreement, Avoid Disastrous Default", "2023-05-31", "2023", "2023-05", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, otherwise known as the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, to pay America\u2019s bills, protect Missouri families from the catastrophic consequences of default, and ensure our economic recovery from the global pandemic can continue unabated. The legislation will now go to the U.S. Senate, where it is expected to pass and then signed into law by President Biden, officially ending the Republican-manufactured default crisis.\n\n\u201cThis is my second serving of a satan sandwich, and it\u2019s not much better than my first. In fact, it is difficult to put into words how angry and frustrated I am that House Republicans manufactured this default crisis by openly taking Missouri families, workers, and our national economy hostage in one of the saddest displays of legislative extortion I\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s disrespectful to the constituents and communities we represent; it trivializes the real issues facing American families today; and it does lasting damage to our democracy and standing on the world stage\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cWhile I condemn the process the GOP took to arrive at this deal, it doesn\u2019t change the fact that with Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, a compromise on the federal budget was inevitable\u2014and this is a compromise I am willing to support in order to protect families in my congressional district from a Republican-manufactured economic catastrophe.\u201d\n\nThe Fiscal Responsibility Act protects everyday Americans and our national economy by:\n\nPreventing a Devastating Default that would have triggered an immediate recession, cost millions of jobs, devastated retirement accounts, and reversed the economic progress made over the past two years, including achieving the lowest unemployment rate in five decades;\n\nProtecting Americans\u2019 Health Care and Retirements by preventing Republican cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, ensuring health insurance and social security checks for tens of millions of Americans;\n\nFully Funding Veterans\u2019 Medical Care, including mandatory funding for the recently passed PACT Act\u2019s toxic exposure fund;\n\nDefending Democrats\u2019 Economic Agenda, ensuring key legislative accomplishments are protected from the GOP\u2019s chopping block\u2014including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, PACT Act, clean energy investments, corporate minimum tax, and Medicare\u2019s ability to negotiate for lower drug prices.\n\nLocking in Two-Year Debt Limit Suspension and Budget Deal, which removes the default detonator from Republican hands, is consistent with recent bipartisan budget agreements, and rejects the 10-year spending caps proposed by House Republicans;\n\nRejecting Extreme Cuts to Essential Federal Programs by locking in funding levels that President Biden and Congressional Democrats secured for 2023, following two years of substantial investments in public education, child care, social services, and public health;\n\nRejecting Work Requirements for Medicaid and Adding New Exemptions for SNAP, exempting veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth through age 24 for the nutrition assistance program. While the bill also includes new SNAP work requirements for adults aged 50-54 without dependents\u2014something Rep. Cleaver strongly opposes\u2014the provision is phased in over time and sunset after 10 years. When accounting for the new beneficiaries, SNAP will receive an increase in funding;\n\nSupporting Continued Investments in a Clean Energy Future by protecting the Inflation Reduction Act\u2019s historic climate provisions and investments in environmental justice, accelerating our transition to a clean energy economy, and maintaining environmental protections;\n\nProtecting Student Debt Relief, keeping in place the President\u2019s plan to provide student debt relief for hardworking borrowers\u2014most of whom make less than $75,000 per year;\n\nProtecting Key Public Health Funding that will help prepare for future pandemics and possible COVID-19 surges\u2014including $5 billion to accelerate the development of Next Gen vaccines.\n\n\u201cThe Fiscal Responsibility Act prevents a disastrous default that would have killed millions of jobs; protects funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA; protects President Biden\u2019s signature legislative accomplishments like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS Act; increases funding for SNAP while beating back extreme cuts to other critical federal programs; and it puts our nation on a stronger financial trajectory moving forward,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cWhile I don\u2019t agree with everything in the bill, I understand that democracy demands compromise\u2014and this is a compromise that will benefit the people of Missouri\u2019s Fifth District. However, once this bill is signed into law, the President must turn his focus toward eliminating the mechanism that enables the annual food fight over paying the nation\u2019s bills. Whether it is through the Congress or the courts, we must get rid of the disastrous debt ceiling.\u201d\n\nA section-by-section analysis of the Fiscal Responsibility Act is available here.\n\nOfficial text of the Fiscal Responsibility Act is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:55:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-votes-support-bipartisan-budget-agreement-avoid-disastrous"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5254542231559753, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}