Monday, August 1, 2011

DEBT CEILING COVERAGE, Arizona Delegation Updates: Monday, Aug. 1

I posted Sen. McCain's TV interviews from this a.m. separately, but am now going to post our (somewhat) daily compilation (in progress) thread.  As always, if you find anything that should be included, or have any corrections or complaints, please drop me an e-mail!

VOTE IN HOUSE: Passed 269-161.  Arizona's delegation voted as follows:
 
YES:  Giffords, Gosar
NO:  Grijalva, Flake, Schweikert, Franks, Quayle, Pastor

Giffords, Rep. Gabrielle (D-CD8): Very exciting to read that Rep. Giffords is there to cast her 1st vote since the attempted assassination!  Arizona's Dan Nowicki breaks it: http://bit.ly/oZZuaS

Parenthetically, I e-mailed Giffords' office earlier today to attempt to find out what was going on. Dang those reporters on the ground!!!


Gosar, Rep. Paul (R-CD1):  Rep. Gosar just (3:30p.m., AZT) issued a news release that he will vote for the deal (momentarily... maybe).  Here's his statement:

“Our nation’s debt and spending crisis is like a super tanker. In order to bring a supertanker to a stop, its engines are typically cut off about 15 miles from port. In order to change direction even slightly, the captain has to start the maneuver miles ahead of time. The current bill is a change in direction. But we cannot stop this “supertanker of debt” tonight, in one vote. Our Supertanker of Debt was created over the last 10 years or more. We cannot undo a decade of wasteful spending in one night. I plan on voting for the Budget Control Act tonight even though it is far from perfect. We cannot expect perfection when the Senate and the White House is fighting us on even acknowledging the severity of the problem. The Senate has not even passed a budget in 824 days.
I preferred the Cut, Cap and Balance Act. I heard the people loud and clear. This bill is far from perfect, but it is actually a milestone of progress. The people spoke in November and sent me to DC. We have heard you. We will continue to listen.”
Grijalva, Rep. Raul (D-CD7):  "All take and no give... is not a compromise."  That is the condensed quote from Rep. Grijalva at a press conference this afternoon with the Congressioal Progressive Caucus.


Schweikert, Rep. David (R-CD5):  As of this p.m. (1:00p.m., AZT), Rep. Schweikert is still "leaning no".  He did an in-depth interview with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan, and indicated that his biggest hang-up about the deal is that only $21 billion of the spending cuts in the coming year.



Kyl, Sen. Jon (R-AZ):  A National Review reporter - Andrew Stiles - tweets that he asked the Republican Whip if he would like to be included in the so-called "Super Congress" (the committee that will try to come up with the next round of deficit reduction measures).  Stiles reports Kyl's response as "not really".  Somewhat surprising, since I recall the Senator's news conference announcing that he would not be running for re-election, at which he spoke enthusiastically about how being freed up from the pressure of a campaign would allow him to better tackle some of the tough issues.  Including deficit reduction.

Gosar, Rep. Paul (R-CD1):  Gosar tweeted (re-tweeted) at approximatel 10:45a.m. (AZT):  "A Balanced Budget Amendment is the only way to stop the explosion of debt."

A Washington Post reporter - Felecia Somnez - tweets that freshman Rep. Paul Gosar is "still reading" about the deal.  When asked about the process, he reportedly said "Seems like bureaucracy at its finest."

Quayle, Rep. Ben (R-CD3):  Rep. Quayle has asked Tweeters to let him know what they think about the deal on the table.  I'm not sure what link to give you to view the responses, but the ones I saw seem to be split about evenly.

Schweikert, Rep. David (R-CD5):  Rep. Schweikert was on Bloomberg TV and CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning.  He thinks the deal will pass but is not yet sure how he'll vote on it.



TheHill.com has Schweikert as "leaning no."

Franks, Rep. Trent (R-CD2):  Rep. Franks also re-tweeted the one sentence mentioned in the Gosar section, about the Balanced Budget Amendment (at approx 10:00a.m., AZT).


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