Missouri Republican Mark Alford votes against debt limit deal backed by most KC area reps

Missouri freshman Rep. Mark Alford on Wednesday voted against a deal to avoid an historic default on the country’s debt, breaking with Republican leaders in his first high-profile vote as a member of the U.S. House.

The deal, which still cleared the House with bipartisan support, will raise the debt limit for two years while capping some federal spending and imposing work requirements on some social welfare programs.

Earlier Wednesday, Alford supported a procedural vote in favor of the bill, but he said he was still weighing whether to ultimately support the bill. Alford, a former television anchor whose district includes two military bases, said he didn’t like spending caps the bill put on defense spending and the fact that it raised the debt limit for two years until after the next presidential election.

“As long as I am in Congress, I will never vote for what Washington wants,” Alford wrote in a release on Twitter. “I will always vote for what Missouri’s 4th District wants and needs; and they need much better than this bill provides.”

Most of the representatives from Kansas and Missouri voted Wednesday to raise the debt limit through 2025 while adding caps to federal spending and requirements for some programs in the social safety net, keeping the country on track to avoid an historic default on the national debt.

Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Kansas Republican whose district includes Wyandotte County, cited the economic turmoil that would have resulted from default as a driving factor in his decision to back the bill.

“Defaulting on our nation’s debt would result in a global financial crisis—crippling 401ks and triggering disastrous implications for families across Kansas,” LaTurner said in a statement. “This debt limit package cuts wasteful federal spending by $2.1 trillion, unleashes the American economy, and blocks President Biden’s demands for higher taxes—all while protecting seniors and veterans. I don’t agree with everything in this bill, but in divided government, we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Democrats joined Republicans to provide enough votes for the bill to clear the House, as several of the far-right members of the Republican caucus railed against the legislation, saying it didn’t do enough to pare back government spending like an earlier bill that did not have enough support to get through the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.

The bill passed 314-117, with the support of eight out of the 12 lawmakers from Kansas and Missouri. Rep. Eric Burlison, a freshman Republican from Missouri, was also one of the 71 Republicans who voted against the bill.

“I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it,” Burlison said. “And I get it. But I think that the bill that we sent forward before was actually a reasonable bill, it was a responsible bill, it had significant cuts up front.”

The earlier House bill, passed at the end of April with only Republican votes didn’t have support to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate. Instead, it forced a negotiation between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, announced this weekend. The deal would reduce the federal deficit by about $1.5 trillion between 2023 and 2033, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Biden and McCarthy’s compromise lifts the debt limit until 2025, after the next presidential election, in exchange for mostly capping spending on programs outside of Medicare and Social Security. The debt limit restricts the amount of money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills.

Biden put out a statement Wednesday night praising the House for passing the bill, saying it was good news for the American people and the economy.

“I have been clear that the only path forward is a bipartisan compromise that can earn the support of both parties,” Biden said. “This agreement meets that test. I urge the Senate to pass it as quickly as possible so that I can sign it into law, and our country can continue building the strongest economy in the world.”

More Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Federal spending exceeded the debt limit in January, but the Treasury Department has moved money around in order to keep paying the country’s bills until money runs out. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted there won’t be enough money to pay the country’s bills by the end of the weekend, leaving lawmakers staring down an historic default on the country’s debt if not enough members back the deal.

In explaining his vote, Alford said he felt the bill would exacerbate the deficit and said the bill didn’t go far enough in limiting funding for the IRS allocated by Congress in 2022.

“While I applaud the efforts of Kevin McCarthy throughout this negotiation process, I cannot in good faith support this debt ceiling package,” Alford said.

The bill cuts about $20 billion in IRS funding, lifts some restrictions on oil and gas projects and imposes new work requirements for able-bodied adults up to age 54 who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as “food stamps,” and those who qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a program that financially helps low-income families.

The progressive Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said Wednesday that up to 11,000 Missourians and 3,000 Kansans would be at risk of losing their benefits under the bill.

Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, was the only other member of the Missouri and Kansas delegations to vote against the bill and her objection largely focused on the work requirements the bill imposed on people receiving SNAP and TANF benefits.

The Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would increase the number of people eligible for SNAP benefits because it eliminates work requirements for veterans, homeless people and people under 24 who were in foster care when they turned 18.

“It’s saying that it could work, but the actual application of it — when we know we’re driving people off — is tough,” Bush said.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, said he also struggled with how the bill would affect poor people. But he ultimately decided that the consequences of a potential default outweighed any issues he had with the bill.

“I guess there are people who would like to say, ‘well, but you got to stand up for your principles,’” Cleaver said. “I think a lot of people are interested in principal and interest.”

The deal was also good enough for Rep. Ann Wagner, a St. Louis County Republican who said she liked much of what she say in the bill. She was particularly enthusiastic about procedural changes the bill that aimed to limit spending by administrative agencies, which she said would prevent Biden from waiving large amounts of student loan debt.

“I’m very pleasantly surprised at how much they they were able to negotiate and get done,” Wagner said. “And I gotta tell you what, I’ve never voted to default on the full faith and credit of the United States of America. This is my sixth term in Congress, and I can’t imagine crossing that Rubicon.”

Wagner said she felt some of the Republicans voting against the bill were being insincere in their approach to the negotiations, saying they were asking for provisions that were outside of the bill already passed by Republicans.

But standing on then steps of the Capitol after a procedural vote, Burlison, wearing a tie honoring Adam Smith, who was considered the “father of capitalism,” said he felt Republican leaders should have played hardball and that he felt they were negotiating with themselves.

“I don’t know if I’m totally disillusioned with this place yet, I’m gonna try, but I will say that I’ve become more and more a fan of the article five convention of states process,” Burlison said, referencing a movement to host a constitutional convention that would enable conservatives to add stricter budget provisions.

“I’m becoming more and more convinced that this place may require some equity on the outside, a constitutional amendment,” he said, implying he wants a constitutional amendment that requires Congress to balance its budget.

McClatchy DC reporter Danielle Battaglia contributed report.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated how much the bill reduces from the national deficit. It’s $1.5 trillion.

HOW THEY VOTED

A yes vote sends a bill increasing the debt limit for two years while capping some federal spending to the Senate for a vote.

Kansas

Rep. Sharice Davids (D) — Yes

Rep. Ron Estes (R) — Yes

Rep. Jake LaTurner (R) — Yes

Rep. Tracey Mann (R) — No

Missouri

Rep. Mark Alford (R) — No

Rep. Eric Burlison (R) — No

Rep. Cori Bush (D) — No

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) — Yes

Rep. Sam Graves (R) — Yes

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) — Yes

Rep. Jason Smith (R) — Yes

Rep. Ann Wagner (R) — Yes