Andy Harris Voted to Hold U.S. Debt Limit Increase Hostage AND Cut Services to Marylanders

Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-MD1) voted to hold hostage the full faith and credit of the United States and risk economic chaos and catastrophe. He cast an aye vote for HR 2811, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s reckless plan to force President Biden to negotiate cuts to spending already authorized by Congress, in return for raising the debt limit for a year. HR 2811 has been dubbed the Default on America, or DOA bill by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer (D-NY).
According to the White House, this extreme bill would “cut veterans’ health care, education, Meals on Wheels, and public safety, take away health care from millions of Americans, and send manufacturing jobs overseas. Outside economists say that if enacted, the Default on America Act would ‘increase the likelihood’ of a recession and result in 780,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2024. And House Republicans are demanding these cuts while separately advancing proposals to add over $3 trillion to deficits through tax cuts and giveaways skewed to the wealthy and big corporations.”
To alert the American people to the devastating impact of this reckless extreme MAGA House Republican plan, the White House released a new analysis highlighting the devastating impacts this bill would have in each state. The plan would slash critical investments in hard-working families by roughly 22%, while making trillions in tax cuts.
That’s in sharp contrast with President Biden’s budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.
Unfortunately, this kind of reckless behavior is the best we can expect from our First District MAGA representative Andy Harris. He has never had our best interests at heart, and he still doesn’t.
According to the White House website (from which the items below are copied), the Default on America Act would mean at least $980 million fewer federal grant dollars invested in Maryland, including cuts that would:
Jeopardize Transportation Safety and Infrastructure
- Cut 110 Rail Safety Inspections in Maryland. At a time when train derailments are wreaking havoc on community safety, House Republicans’ Default on America Act would lead to 110 fewer rail safety inspection days and 460 fewer miles of track inspected in Maryland next year alone. Since the Norfolk Southern train derailment, bipartisan senators have called for more rail inspections, not fewer.
- Jeopardize Air Safety by Shutting Down at Least Four Air Traffic Control Towers in Maryland. The Default on America Act would shut down services at four contract air traffic control towers in Maryland, likely also require shut down of additional federally-staffed facilities, and increase wait times at TSA security check points at large airports across the country by over two hours.
- Withhold Vital Transportation Infrastructure Funding. Under the Default on America Act, Maryland would stand to lose nearly $36 million in funding for transit and highway infrastructure projects all across the state.
Raise Costs for Families
- Eliminate 4,700 Preschool and Child Care Slots in Maryland. The Default on America Act would mean 2,300 children in Maryland lose access to Head Start slots and 2,400 children lose access to child care — undermining our children’s education and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce and contribute to our economy.
- Strip Nutrition Food Assistance from Women and Children in Maryland. The Default on America Act would also mean 31,000 women, infants, and children would lose vital nutrition assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), increasing child poverty and hunger.
- Raise Housing Costs for 13,900 Marylanders. Under the Default on America Act, 13,900 families in Maryland would lose access to rental assistance, including older adults, persons with disabilities, and families with children, who without rental assistance would be at risk of homelessness. The House Republican Default on America Act would also mean as many as 810 families across Maryland who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or attempting to flee domestic violence would lose access to emergency housing vouchers.
Harm Seniors, Older People, and Veterans
- Threaten Medical Care for 54,700 Maryland Veterans. The House Republicans’ Default on America Act would result in 30 million fewer outpatient visits for our nation’s veterans all across the country. That means 54,700 veterans could lose access outpatient visits in Maryland, leaving them unable to get appointments for care like wellness visits, mental health services, and substance disorder treatment.
- Worsen Social Security and Medicare Assistance Wait Times for 1.1 million Maryland Seniors. Under the House Republicans’ Default on America Act, people applying for disability benefits would have to wait at least two months longer for a decision. With fewer staff available, 1.1 million seniors and people with disabilities in Maryland would be forced to endure longer wait times when they call for assistance for both Social Security and Medicare.
- Jeopardize Food Assistance for 18,000 Older Adults in Maryland. House Republicans are threatening food assistance for up to 18,000 older adults in Maryland with the Default on America Act’s harsh new eligibility restrictions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Jeopardize Health Coverage and Access to Care
- Jeopardize Health Coverage and Access to Care for 437,000 Marylanders. The Default on America Act would put health insurance coverage — and health — at risk for 437,000 Marylanders. Only one state has ever fully implemented similar policies, and nearly one in four adults subject to the policy lost their health coverage — including working people and people with serious health conditions — with no evidence of increased employment.
- Deny 1,000 Marylanders Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. The Default on America Act would deny access to opioid use disorder treatment for more than 1,000 people in Maryland through the State Opioid Response grant program — denying them a potentially life-saving path to recovery.
Hurt Children and Students and Undermine Education and Job Training
- Gut Funding for Low-Income Students. The Default on America Act would cut approximately $80 million in funding for schools serving low-income children— equivalent to removing nearly 1,300 teachers and specialized instructional support personnel from classrooms, impacting an estimated 220,000 students.
- Cut Support for Students with Disabilities. Under the Default on America Act, as many as 110,000 children in Maryland with disabilities would face reduced supports — a cut in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding equivalent to removing approximately 800 teachers and related services providers from the classroom.
- Slash Mental Health Support for Students. The Default on America Act would limit educators’ abilities to address student mental health issues, including suicide and drug use, by cutting funding dedicated to creating healthy learning environments in Maryland schools by about $2.1 million.
- Eliminate Student Debt Relief. The Default on America Act would eliminate President Biden’s one-time student debt relief plan, denying much needed emergency student loan relief of up to $20,000 from 323,000 approved applicants across Maryland recovering from the effects of the pandemic. It would also block the creation of new, more affordable student loan repayment plans, such as the President’s proposal to cut undergraduate loans payments in half.
- Make College More Expensive for 99,700 Marylanders. The Default on America Act would reduce the maximum award for Pell Grants by nearly $1,000, likely eliminating it altogether for 1,400 students in Maryland, while making it harder for the remaining 98,300 recipients to attend and afford college.
- Deny 12,900 Marylanders Access to Workforce Development Services. The Default on America Act would result in 12,900 fewer Marylanders receiving job training and employment services provided through the Department of Labor’s workforce development funding. These harmful cuts would deprive businesses of the skilled workforce they need to thrive, and would cut off worker pathways to good jobs.
(The White House explains how the numbers were arrived at: This analysis assumes an across-the-board reduction of roughly 22% compared to currently enacted FY 2023 levels for non-defense discretionary accounts. That aligns with Congressional Republicans’ Default on America Act, which would return discretionary spending to FY 2022 levels on an ongoing basis while exempting defense spending. The total federal dollars cut in each state represents a 22% reduction across federal discretionary grant programs using FY23 state allocations for the 29 largest federal grants adjusted for remaining grants as though they were evenly distributed.)
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore




