Minn.’s Ellison a ‘no’ on debt deal; Franken, Klobuchar, Walz yes

Published 4:15 pm Monday, August 1, 2011

Almost all Minnesota legislators are playing Minnesota Nice with the upcoming debt ceiling budget deal.

The deficit-reduction deal headed for a critical vote in Congress won’t get support from Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, but Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and District 1 Democratic Rep. Tim Walz say they’re on board.

“I will vote for this package, because defaulting would have grave economic consequences for my Minnesota constituent,” Franken said in a statement.

Ellison announced his opposition in a Congressional Progressive Caucus news conference Monday, saying the deal is the wrong approach for the economy.

Franken says in a release that he supports the proposal because it will raise the nation’s debt limit and prevent a U.S. default that he said would be “disastrous to all Minnesotans.” But Franken says the deal relies too heavily on spending cuts.

“The deal that has been struck is not balanced, as I would have preferred,” Franken said in a statement. “It does achieve the laudable goal of reducing the deficit, but does so with only cuts, even though a significant majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor closing loopholes for corporations and tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to make sure everyone is paying their fair share.”

Klobuchar said she will also vote in favor of the deal, releasing a statement saying that “while it is certainly not a perfect plan, the time has come to break through the partisan stalemate.”

“Over the past week I have heard from countless Minnesotans who want Congress to come together and reach a compromise on the debt ceiling,” Klobuchar said in the statement. “This bipartisan agreement will save our country from defaulting on our obligations, which would have caused real pain for Minnesota families and businesses, while also reducing our nation’s deficit and putting us on a path towards fiscal responsibility.”

Walz said he will support the budget deal.

“After a frustrating process that took far too long, I am glad we finally reached an agreement and acted tonight to avoid a default,” Walz said in a statement. “This compromise is not perfect. Compromises never are. But as someone who believes strongly that we need to reduce our debt, while also keeping the promises we have made to our seniors, to our veterans, to our soldiers, and to our children, I chose to support this legislation. Most importantly, I believe this provides our economy with stability it desperately needs during this time of recovery.”

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack says the deal doesn’t solve the problem, but he hasn’t announced how he will vote.

Cravaack voted with Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann against an earlier debt limit proposal last week.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.