Voters in NY Congressional District 16 have been inundated with ads and mailers from County Executive and congressional candidate George Latimer accusing incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman of voting against President Biden’s infrastructure bill and against an urgently needed increase in the federal debt ceiling.

The truth is more complicated.

Congressman Bowman relaxes after shooting hoops at Lincoln Park on Saturday, June 15

Congressman Bowman, along with over 100 other Democratic members of the Progressive Caucus, was an enthusiastic supporter of the 2021 infrastructure bill, which provided funding to rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water and high-speed internet, and advance environmental justice.

Congressman Bowman and the Progressive Caucus were also fighting for the companion Build Back Better bill, which would have provided funding for child care, elder care, health care, early childhood and college education, and other social needs.  Most Democrats supported the infrastructure bill, but some “moderate” democrats opposed the Build Back Better bill, citing concerns about its cost.  For months, the Progressive Caucus linked these two bills, refusing to vote for one without the other, hoping to use their leverage to be sure both bills passed. 

In complex negotiations in November 2021, President Biden pressured the Progressive Caucus to separate the two bills to be sure at least the infrastructure bill would pass.  After lengthy negotiations, all but six members of the Progressive Caucus agreed to separate the bills and support the infrastructure bill alone.  When it was clear that the infrastructure bill would pass, Congressman Bowman and five other Democrats–all women of color in and around “the Squad”– decided to vote against it to keep up pressure for the full package, including the Build Back Better bill.

This was not a vote against Biden’s infrastructure plan — it was a vote not to settle for a partial victory when he and others thought that keeping up the pressure could bring more support for human and social needs.  The infrastructure bill passed without Congressman Bowman’s vote and was signed into law a few days later.  After continued negotiations, parts of the Build Back Better bill passed in 2022, but much of it was never approved.

Congressman Bowman was also one of 46 Democratic congressional representatives and four Democratic senators who voted against the legislation that ended the debt ceiling crisis of 2023. 

Congressional Republicans had held the debt ceiling — the limit on how much the federal government can borrow to pay its bill — hostage for much of 2023, insisting on unpopular budget cuts as the price for saving the government from fiscal collapse.  Democrats, including President Biden, insisted on a “clean” debt ceiling bill, with no conditions attached.

After months of wrangling, President Biden agreed with then House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a modest package of budget cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit.  Democrats objected to provisions in the agreement that revoked $28 billion in COVID-19 relief funds, wiped out over $20 billion for the IRS to go after rich tax cheats, imposed work requirements on older adults who rely on food stamps, and undermined national environmental law by approving the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

In a statement explaining his vote, Congressman Bowman said, “Like many of my colleagues, I cannot in good conscience endorse a bill that unnecessarily pairs a debt limit increase with attacks on the poor and marginalized, and that threatens our shared future with more giveaways to the fossil fuel industry.”

The debt ceiling agreement passed the House by a vote of 314-117.

Latimer’s mailings hide the complexity of these negotiations and the real reasons why Congressman Bowman voted as he did.  The effect is to make it appear that Congressman Bowman opposed programs that, in fact, he strongly supported. 

Much has been said about the millions of dollars in outside funding that is fueling Latimer’s effort to oust lower Westchester’s first Black congressional representative.  Those dollars are being turned into ads and mailings that distort the truth.  Voters must be fully informed to make the best decision at the ballot box.