Tester votes for economic certainty, spending cuts

Senator: Montana deserves bipartisanship, not politics-as-usual excuses

(U.S. SENATE) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after voting for a bipartisan bill to cut spending, avoid economic default without raising taxes:

“For months, small business owners, seniors and veterans across Montana have been asking me to support a bipartisan agreement to avoid economic default and to make real spending cuts. The debate on this issue has shown the worst of Washington. But real problems require tough votes, not politics-as-usual excuses.

“This bipartisan agreement takes us in the right direction, but it is not the long-term solution Montana needs. A long-term solution involves closing tax loopholes for millionaires and corporations that ship jobs overseas, and it will involve strengthening Medicare and Social Security so they don’t go broke for future generations.”

Tester supports a long-term proposal by the “Gang of Six,” a bipartisan group of senators committed to working together to reform the tax code, cut spending, and strengthen Medicare and Social Security for future generations. The Gang of Six’s proposal is based on the framework of the bipartisan Debt Commission.

The organization Citizens Against Government Waste supports today’s bipartisan agreement, saying it “achieves substantial spending cuts that exceed the debt limit increase, requires a vote on a balanced budget amendment, and creates a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to provide recommendations for further deficit reduction.”

What Montanans are saying about avoiding default…

“Congress has to put politics aside to agree on a plan to avoid defaulting on our obligations. Failure to work together on a passable plan will hurt small businesses across this state, taking our economy giant steps backward.”
         –Steve Malicott, President and CEO, Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce

“Any entrepreneur will tell you that not paying your bills will wipe out a business in no time. Not paying our bills on a national scale will have tremendous impact on businesses and communities, large and small. None of us can afford that.”
         –Sarah Calhoun, Founder and Owner, Red Ants Pants

“A default would result in serious consequences for the world’s economy and Montana’s economy. Montana’s job creators and business leaders must have a responsible, passable plan to remove the threat of default. Default would end in higher interest rates and higher rates would hurt small businesses, if not put us out of business.”
         –Jay Bentley, Owner, The Mint Bar & Cafe in Belgrade

“Taking care of this issue for the long term is a matter of providing certainty to tens of thousands of veterans across Montana. Veterans don’t deserve and can’t afford to be in the chain of dominoes that will fall if Congress fails to pass a bipartisan plan.”
         –Merv Gunderson, American Legion

“Montana’s seniors will be among the victims of any plan that fails to address our debt crisis. No senior in this country deserves to bear the consequences of a failure to fix this problem. That’s what Montanans expect Congress to do.”
         –Susan Kohler, CEO, Missoula Aging Services

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