Senate Passes Debt Ceiling Bill That Toomey Opposes

In a 74-26 vote, the U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that would increase the debt-ceiling limit and cut spending.

, the House of Representatives passed the bill 269-161.

The bill is expected to be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature later in the day.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey’s Press Secretary Rebecca Neal told Patch via a phone interview from the senator’s Washington D.C. office that Toomey is expected to release a statement later Tuesday about the vote. 

But in a press release on Monday he stated he would not be voting for the bill.

“Our government is heading for a fiscal crisis. We have doubled spending since 2000. Our deficits are now more than $1.4 trillion per year, and our debt has reached a stunning $14.3 trillion,” Toomey stated. 

"Unfortunately, the debt ceiling deal announced last night does nothing to deal with the path of our government's unsustainable deficit spending. For fiscal year 2012, this legislation will only cut two-tenths of 1 percent of total spending. Not only will our debt grow each year under this plan, it will continue to grow even as a percentage of our economy. …”