Thread by @Malinowski

Our 12 NJ House members may have to vote next week on Kevin McCarthy's threat to default on America's debts to force massive cuts in domestic spending.

Default would destroy our economy.

But we should also talk about what the proposed extreme budget cuts would do to New Jersey.

The McCarthy plan would cut about $130 billion right away and massively more over 10 years. Since the GOP will likely exempt defense, veterans, and (I'd guess) border enforcement, that would require cutting everything else the government does by over 50%.

https://twitter.com/BBKogan/status/1648789331371253765?s=20

One obvious consequence of the McCarthy cuts would be to eliminate the increased spending on our roads and bridges from last year's infrastructure bill.

So anyone voting for this is kissing the #Gateway tunnel goodbye, along with hundreds of local projects coming to our state.

Our hospitals, especially in rural counties like Warren, and community health centers, like those run by the wonderful @Zufall_Health, heavily depend on Medicaid funding. If Medicaid is cut 50%, some of them would not survive (and hospitals would charge all of us more).

I could go on - no new CHIPS Act $ for innovative NJ companies; slashing rail and airport safety; eviscerating basic science research that our biotech companies depend on, etc.

The point is, any NJ rep who votes yes is saying "this should happen, or our country defaults."

And don't let anyone tell you McCarthy's plan is about lowering the deficit, because the bill also defunds the IRS, which every serious, non-partisan budget expert has said will increase the deficit & debt. thehill.com/homenews/house…

What's more, Republicans in the House have promised to extend Trump's tax cuts for corporations and billionaires when they expire in 2025, which would add trillions more to the national debt.

This is what their budget cuts are actually meant to pay for. crfb.org/blogs/cbo-esti…

The bipartisan House @ProbSolveCaucus has proposed a more responsible alternative -- raise the debt ceiling now, with an independent commission on reducing the debt, and requiring Congress to vote on the Commission's recommendations. axios.com/2023/04/19/bip…

The GOP members of the Problem Solvers Caucus who support this alternative deserve credit -- but only if they have the guts to vote against McCarthy's crazy scorched earth plan. They can't have it both ways.

A final note -- there's almost no local press coverage of our Congressional delegation in NJ, beyond political horse race stuff. While I hope our remaining local press will report on this issue at least, it falls to every citizen to ask their reps how they plan to vote and why.