Congressman Jared Huffman | Official U.S. House headshot
Congressman Jared Huffman | Official U.S. House headshot
Washington, D.C. – Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) released the following statement on his plan to vote against H.R. 3746, the legislative agreement to suspend the debt ceiling for 18 months in return for a host of Democratic spending and policy concessions. Specifically, the bill cuts non-defense spending while increasing defense spending; adds unnecessary hurdles for vulnerable Americans to receive vital food and financial assistance; significantly and permanently undermines NEPA, one of our most critical environmental laws; and flouts the opposition of climate activists and environmental justice groups by legislatively greenlighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has a climate impact equivalent to building 26 new coal-fired power plants.
“Agreeing to a one-sided negotiation under threat of default has produced a bad deal and a terrible precedent. While Republicans’ egregious hostage-taking accomplished very little debt or deficit reduction, the temporary social service cuts they demanded fall unconscionably on vulnerable Americans who are struggling just to have food to eat. And those who characterize the environmental rollbacks in this ‘deal’ as merely procedural reforms are being disingenuous. These are permanent, substantive reductions in environmental protection that Republicans and the fossil fuel industry have been seeking for many years. Taken together with the abominable approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, this deal is a major step backward from the climate and environmental justice wins we delivered in the last Congress. And since Democrats got nothing on the permitting reform item we actually need (electrical transmission), Republicans will use that as leverage to demand even more environmental rollbacks in the months ahead.”
“Finally, once you normalize extreme hostage taking like this, there’s no going back. MAGA Republicans succeeded in holding America hostage under threat of default in order to extract unrelated demands, and they now have a template. Today’s deal is going to pass, but since it consists entirely of odious concessions to Republicans, it should pass with GOP votes. I will not be voting for what I view as a lousy deal and a terrible precedent.”
Among other things, the bill limits the types of projects subject to NEPA review, allows polluters to conduct their own environmental reviews, and codifies various provisions of the Trump administration’s 2020 NEPA regulations. The bill also approves the disastrous Mountain Valley Pipeline despite several permitting hurdles it still must go through.
Click here for a fact sheet on these provisions (Division C, Title III, Sections 321-324).
Earlier this month, Rep. Huffman joined a letter signed by 83 House Democrats to President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urging them to oppose inclusion of environmental rollbacks in any must-pass legislation.
In addition to these dirty energy provisions, this bill would:
- take away Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) away from hundreds of thousands of older adults and families;
- take back approximately $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 aid that would otherwise be used for rental assistance, broadband, small business assistance, and more;
- rescind $20 billion of the $80 billion that the Inflation Reduction Act allocated to the IRS to pursue rich tax evaders and provide improved customer service; and
- end the student loan payment pause, requiring borrowers to begin repayment 60 days after June 30.
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