Central New York Rep. Brandon Williams (R-Sennett) is heading back to Washington Tuesday for an expected vote this week on the debt ceiling deal struck between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend.
In an interview with WRVO Monday, Williams said he’s encouraged by the agreement, but didn’t indicate whether he would vote for the deal.
"But the devil’s always in the details. So we’re looking through the language for things we think are important to Central New York,” Williams said. “So before we signal absolutely one way or the other, we just want to make sure we’ve read it through that lens of supporting and representing people here."
Williams said he has supported the process, and Speaker McCarthy, as well as some of the policy components of the legislation, including work requirements for certain recipients of federal benefits. But he is still concerned about what he calls a spending problem in the federal government.
“Spending is going to be, for my first term in Congress, I think it’s going to be the issue that we will be tackling over and over again, no matter how this debt ceiling goes,” he said.
The debt ceiling debate is forcing Williams to replace two in-person town hall meetings scheduled for this week in Onondaga County, with tele-town hall events. Williams said he wanted to honor a commitment to hear from constituents.
"And I think people will want to know what happened with the debt ceiling, so we want to provide real-time information to folks back in the district,” he said.
Anyone who wishes to take part in the tele-town hall must register in advance.
