John Fetterman Explains Why He Voted Against Debt Ceiling Deal

Five Democratic senators voted against the debt ceiling deal negotiated by President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which was passed through the upper chamber on Thursday night with a 63 to 36 vote. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was among the dissenting Democrats.

Fetterman's vote was something of a surprise, but he explained it as motivated by the new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's requirements included in the deal.

SNAP (formerly food stamps) is the country's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for low-income Americans, which provides benefits to purchase goods from grocery stores and farmer markets to families in need.

The deal, which suspends the debt ceiling limit until after the next presidential election while imposing some federal spending cuts, would introduce new work requirements for food-insecure Americans in their early 50s—raising the age cap to 54 after 2025.

Currently, SNAP's existing work requirements are in place for able-bodied adults under the age of 50 who do not live with any dependent children. Under the new law, work requirements would apply to adults under the age of 54, with some exceptions.

"As chair of the Nutrition subcommittee on Agriculture, SNAP benefits fall within my jurisdiction in the upcoming Farm Bill," Fetterman said on Twitter on Thursday, explaining why he voted against the debt ceiling deal.

"Speaker McCarthy gloated at Democrats that Republicans will push for additional work requirements beyond what is in this bill, saying, 'Let's get the rest of the work requirements. Let's cut more...'," the senator said.

"Given that Republicans are more obsessed with hurting poor people than holding banks accountable, you'd think that someone who didn't have a job could crash our economy."

Fetterman said he did not agree to these SNAP restrictions, "and I won't give Republicans an opening to try and take food from more food insecure Americans in Farm Bill negotiations later this year. That is why I voted no tonight."

The work requirements under the debt ceiling deal have raised questions among anti-hunger advocates who, like Fetterman, are concerned about a potentially negative impact on low-income Americans. A recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the new rules would increase the number of people eligible for benefits by 0.2 percent (approximately 78,000 people would gain benefits in an average month).

In the aftermath of Thursday's vote, the Pennsylvania senator said that he had told the White House he "would have voted to avoid default if it would have made the difference."

"All in all, this was a tough vote and an ugly situation manufactured by extortionists," he said.

Todd Landman, professor of political science at the University of Nottingham, U.K., told Newsweek: "From my perspective, any deal like this involves compromise across many groups and constituencies, where forces on the right are seeking greater responsibility and accountability for those seeking benefitS from the state and those on the left that are concerned over fairness, accessibility, and adequacy of government support for those who are least fortunate in society."

"Fetterman is largely on the latter side of the divide, especially given his roots in Pennsylvania and experience of poverty and inequality in the state, which itself is historically a swing state in Presidential elections," he said.

"Biden is actually more centrist than much commentary would lead many to believe, and Fetterman is to the left of Biden. Even though the vote passed, Fetterman has registered his disdain for the deal with a no vote."

Newsweek has contacted Fetterman's press team for comment by email.