Two area congressmen — U.S. Reps. Mike McIntyre and Walter Jones — voted against the fiscal cliff compromise that passed the U.S. House Tuesday night.
McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, was one of 16 House Democrats to vote against the deal. He said he voted that way because it adds nearly $4 trillion to the nation’s debt, delays spending cuts and doesn’t provide for “comprehensive tax reform that can help our small businesses create jobs.”
“The financial markets, small business and the American people are looking for stability and accountability, not a temporary fix,” McIntyre said in a prepared statement. “A comprehensive solution is needed that includes getting our national debt under control and reining in government spending.”
Jones, a Farmville Republican, also said an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office shows the bill will raise the debt by nearly $4 trillion and includes more than $40 in tax increases for every $1 in spending cuts.
He pointed out the deal comes while America’s federal debt is at nearly $17 trillion.
“A country that continues to borrow money to pay bills eventually will collapse,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Jones also cited an ABC News report that various industries — including Hollywood production companies, railroads, NASCAR, electric motorcycle makers and others — would benefit from tax perks included in the legislation. Hollywood, for example, would get $430 million through “special expensing rules to encourage TV and film production in the United States,” according the ABC article.
“Why add any of that when your country is in so much trouble?” he asked.
Jones had said he would be willing to make many more cuts, including eliminating foreign aid, shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, repealing Obamacare and stopping the war in Afghanistan.
Jones also blasted the way the deal was negotiated.
“The way this deal went down reinforces what America hates about the way Washington is being run,” he said. “Backroom deals done in the middle of the night at the zero hour are never good for the American people. This will be no exception.”
Jones said he preferred including more spending cuts in the deal, including cuts Obama has suggested during the past two or three years. But, he said, the House leadership feared adding those cuts would kill the deal.
Jones and McIntyre each represent part of Southeastern North Carolina in the House.