WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) issued the following statement after voting no on the GOP’s Debt Ceiling Bill:

“In Congress, I always center those most marginalized in my decision making process, communities that far too often get overlooked and left behind. These communities look to me to protect lifelines that put food on the table or programs that make up for generations of intentional underinvestment. I represent the city with the largest racial wealth gap in the country. I could not vote for an agreement that puts my constituents at risk for food insecurity, rolls back environmental protections and ties the administration and Department of Education’s hands when it comes to student debt forgiveness.

“While I voted no on the final agreement, I fully understand that President Joe Biden negotiated the best deal possible with an extreme MAGA Republican Party that was willing to create an economic catastrophe by defaulting on our debts. This agreement prevents Republican plans to take 300,000 children out of child care and Head Start while rescinding more than $2 billion in cuts for veterans benefits in Speaker McCarthy’s Default on America Act.

“Throughout this entire process, House Democrats worked diligently to put people over politics saving our country from a catastrophic default. The full faith and credit of the United States must never again be used as a weapon and we cannot continue to use poor people as a bartering chip under the guise of saving a few dollars.”

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