The Default on America Act that was passed along party lines by the U.S. House Republicans last month slashed funding for programs the American people depend on in their everyday lives, said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
The bill is being used in debt limit talks between Republicans and the White House.
The cuts in the bill include funding that’s vital for ensuring transportation safety and infrastructure in Connecticut, DeLauro said during a press briefing at Union Station in New Haven on Friday.
“At a time when train derailments are wreaking havoc on community safety, House Republicans’ Default on America Act would lead to 50 fewer rail safety inspection days and 80 fewer miles of track inspected in Connecticut next year alone,” she said.
DeLauro has also joined other liberal Democrats, including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in dismissing Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy's push for stricter work requirements for recipients of food stamps in the debt limit talks with the White House.
The GOP demand is not worth considering, DeLauro said. “It’s a non-starter, can’t go there."
Budget negotiations should be decoupled from the debt limit talks.
“We’ve had months of tough negotiation with Appropriations at the end of last year and we came out with a bipartisan conclusion," DeLauro said. "We can do that. We know how to do that. We just got to get them off this dime that you are going to hold the country hostage.”
