Northern New York Congressman Bill Owens joined other representatives from the Northeast in casting votes favoring the American Taxpayer Relief Act late Tuesday night.
Both Vermont Congressman Peter Welch and northern New York’s 23rd Congressional District Representative Bill Owens voted in favor of the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Congressman Owens says the time for talk was over.
Congressman Owens is frustrated that negotiations for the fiscal bill took so long, and he believes it could have been passed weeks, if not months, ago.
Middlebury College Professor Emeritus of Political Science Eric Davis notes many items in the bill important to Democrats were favored by the regional delegation. Never-the-less, Davis doubts it will have significant impact on the Northeast.
Congress now faces intense debate over the debt limit, in which Vermont Congressman Peter Welch has already taken up the gauntlet. He has circulated a letter among his House colleagues calling on President Obama to use any authority available to preserve the country’s credit.
Representative Welch was unavailable in time for this broadcast.
