Montana – The debt ceiling measure was approved by a vote of 314-117 on Wednesday evening.
The agreement was reached Saturday night.
Two representatives from Montana and one representative from Wyoming opposed the legislation.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, who represents the eastern portion of the state, voted against the debt ceiling measure and was one of 35 representatives to sign a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“What we saw was again, a reversion back to the swamp tactics where the speaker went behind closed doors with the president and a handful of others and they developed a piece of legislation that doesn’t contain any of those provisions and brought it back,” Rosendale said. “This is a whole new bill.”
According to Rosendale, the debt ceiling will rise by at least $4 trillion.
It does not eliminate 87,000 IRS agents, the Inflation Reduction Act with renewable energy subsidies, or the $400 billion student loan redistribution program, according to him.
“They have already made the deal with the Democrats to enrich themselves and to sell the American people down the river,” Rosendale said.
“For those who are afraid that they’re going to get audited because the President wants to have 87,000 new IRS agents, right now he has zero,” said Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “We took every single dollar they were going to hire somebody this year away.”
Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican from Wyoming, favored greater cuts.
“And the other thing is that I don’t like is that we are suspending the debt limit,” Hageman said. “So it is going to be whatever is spent between now and January 1 2025.”
Hageman claimed that the amount of the debt rise was unknown.
She doesn’t believe the June 5 deadline, which was specified as the day the United States would be unable to pay its bills if the limit was not raised.
“It’s Democrats who have always been clear, we will not allow this country to suffer a devastating default,” said Rep. Katherine Clark, R-Mass.
Western Montana’s representative, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., sent a prepared statement.
“We have to look out for number one, the Constitution number two, Montana,” Zinke said. “This bill doesn’t meet the bell on either point.
“The people of Wyoming are very opposed to this particular bill,” Hageman said.
“This legislation absolutely is an example of all of the worst that Washington has to offer,” Rosendale said.
