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Where In The World Is Derrick Van Orden?

May 25, 2023

Where In The World Is Derrick Van Orden?

MADISON, Wis. — With the government days away from an unprecedented default, Derrick Van Orden has joined the rest of the House GOP in adjourning for a week-long Memorial Day recess—with no plan to avoid the catastrophic consequences of defaulting on our debts.

Here are a few key points on the GOP flirting with a catastrophic national default:

  • An Unprecedented National Default Would Be Catastrophic For Wisconsin. The ongoing crisis enabled by Kevin McCarthy’s weakness and the MAGA extremism of allies such as Derrick Van Orden is entirely manufactured and unnecessary. Defaulting on our debts would devastate Wisconsin, costing us thousands of jobs, erasing retirement accounts, and triggering an instant recession.
  • The GOP Plan To Default On America Would Gut Critical Services, To Include A 22 Percent Cut To Veterans Benefits. Imposing the across-the-board budget cuts called for in the so-called “Limit, Save, Grow Act” would inevitably result in catastrophic cuts to VA services. The VA has estimated the bill would result in a 22 percent cut to critical agency programs, including 30 million fewer veteran outpatient visits.
  • The Republican-Manufactured Debt Crisis Isn’t About New Spending, It’s About Paying The Bills For Money Congress Has Already Spent. Republicans raised the debt limit repeatedly under Donald Trump with little fanfare, all while growing the national debt to $7.8 trillion—the third-largest increase in the annual deficit relative to our economy in history. Now, many of the same Republicans are refusing to pay their own bills, manufacturing economic calamity in the process.
  • Without GOP Tax Cuts For The Rich, America’s Debt As A Percentage Of Our Economy Would Be Declining. Sweetheart tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans passed by Republican trifectas under George W. Bush and Donald Trump added trillions to our national debt, while delivering little of the promised economic growth. Without this reckless GOP spending, debt as a percentage of our economy would now be declining. Instead, our debt is projected to rise indefinitely.
  • Democrats Have A Plan To Reduce Our Debt By $3 Trillion Over The Next Decade. The Inflation Reduction Act achieved hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit reduction. President Biden’s budget proposes further measures to reduce our debt by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. By contrast, in one of their very first votes of this Congress, Derrick Van Orden and the House GOP voted to add more than $100 billion to the deficit while protecting billionaire tax cheats.
  • Republicans Are Holding Our Economy Hostage To Demand Ineffective New Restrictions On Medicaid, Threatening Health Care For Millions. Rather than work to find any kind of compromise, McCarthy and his MAGA allies like Derrick Van Orden are holding the American economy hostage for new work requirements for Medicaid that would put health care coverage for 21 million Americans at risk while doing little to reduce unemployment or improve economic outcomes.

“We are days away from economic catastrophe, and Derrick Van Orden appears to have cut out for a long weekend,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund. “Donald Trump spent his four years in DC adding trillions to our national debt with tax giveaways for the rich—now it’s time for Republican politicians like Derrick Van Orden to return to work and ensure our country can continue paying the bills for Trump’s reckless spending.”

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