Reporter's Notebook: Bay State’s Washington cadre split on debt-limit legislation

Apocalypse averted: This week, the U.S. House and Senate choked down what one unsatisfied member, in reference to the bipartisan deal to raise the national debt limit, called a “Satan sandwich.”

The 12-member Massachusetts delegation largely voted against the proposal, with U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston), William Keating (D-Quincy) and Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) among those supporting the bill. U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-Boston) and Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) joined them.
But the others took a pass, including U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, who splits the representation of Dorchester with Lynch.

The opposition was bipartisan: Capuano joined 94 House Democrats in voting against the proposal. Sixty-six House Republicans voted no. The final House tally was 269-161, while the Senate’s was 74-26 in favor of the deal.

Capuano describes the two-phase plan thusly: The first two years will include cuts from both military and non-military sources of spending. “After that, however, the requirement that the cuts be equitably distributed ends — so every penny of cuts could come from non-military spending,” he wrote in a post on his Congressional website. “Once again, the burden will fall on programming that helps some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

Capuano, a Somerville Democrat and a critic of the foreign policy of past and current U.S. presidents, noted that the spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, two of the biggest drivers of the debt, is exempted from the cuts.
The second phase involves a “Joint Committee of Congress,” alternatively called a “Super Congress,” that will attempt to find an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts by Thanksgiving and forward a final plan to Congress for an up-or-down vote. According to Capuano, that could mean [elements of] Social Security, Medicare, and fuel assistance will end up on the cutting room floor.

Pointing to Denmark as the only other country in the world with a statutory debt limit, Capuano wrote, “This crisis is self-imposed and unique.”

The votes against the deal drew a backlash from local Republican chieftains, who called the debt ceiling compromise “the last opportunity to prevent our nation from defaulting on its obligations.” Added Jennifer Nassour, the chair of the state Republican Party: “Voting to send our country into default represents the height of irresponsibility, and these lawmakers owe their constituents an explanation for their incredibly reckless decision.”

In a rare moment of cleverness, the left-leaning blog Blue Mass. Group pointed out that Nassour’s excoriation must, by natural extrapolation, include the Bay State’s former Republican governor, Mitt Romney, who panned the deal in a statement on Monday morning.

Sen. Brown defended his vote for the deal. “I voted for the compromise debt bill because it avoids default, significantly cuts spending and doesn’t raise taxes,” he said in a statement. “We have more work to do in the months and years ahead, but I am pleased we have come together to take this important step in putting our fiscal house in order. We now can focus all of our attention on creating jobs and growing our economy.”

The extent of the impact of the deal on Massachusetts will remain murky until state officials receive details from the federal level, which may not happen until October. “It’s hard to plan for what we don’t know,” said Jay Gonzalez, Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget chief, according to State House News Service. “Until we get specific information, it’s hard to know what our options are and what our response should be.”

Menino, Hart trade jokes at First Parish Church

Tuesday’s ceremonial gathering outside of the First Parish Church helped to mark the official start of an ambitious renovation project at the landmark building. It also featured some light-hearted ribbing between Mayor Thomas Menino and Jack Hart, the state senator who together headlined the morning event alongside the church’s pastor, Rev. Art Lavoie.

Menino noted that the first debate in the 1993 special election in which he was one of 13 candidates (initially) for mayor was held inside First Parish. Menino recalled that there were too many candidates and not enough room on the stage, a fact that became fully apparent when one of the 13 fell off.
“They didn’t belong anyway,” Menino joked.

Later, Menino pledged that the city was firmly committed to helping First Parish with its $5 million renovation effort, but noted that if they needed anything, “just call Senator Hart.”

For his part, Hart marveled at the history of the place, noting that a church building had occupied the heights atop Meetinghouse Hill since shortly after English settlers arrived there in 1630. “And the mayor of the city at that time was Tom Menino,” Hart cracked.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Managing editor Bill Forry contributed to this report. Material from State House News Service was used. Check out updates to Boston’s political scene at The Lit Drop, located at dotnews.com/litdrop. Follow us on Twitter @LitDrop and @gintautasd.


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