Senator Michael Bennet Voted 'No' On Fiscal Cliff Deal

Colorado's Democratic Senator Michael Bennet was one of eight senators to vote against a plan to skirt the fiscal cliff on Tuesday. Democratic Senator Mark Udall voted yes.

Bennet said he ultimately couldn't support tax breaks for individuals making under $400,000 and families making under $450,000 a year without a plan for solving the fiscal crisis.

The senator was among five Republicans and three Democrats who voted against the bill. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Thomas R. Carper (Del.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Mike Lee (Utah) and Richard Shelby (Ala.) all voted against the deal while three senators did not vote.

The bill finally cleared the Senate 89-8 in the early morning hours of Tuesday, though the fiscal cliff has yet to be averted.

In a statement on his website, Bennet wrote:

Washington once again has lived up to its reputation as the "Land of Flickering Lights." For four years in my townhall meetings across the state Coloradans have told me they want a plan that materially reduces the deficit. This proposal does not meet that standard and does not put in place a real process to reduce the debt down the road. While I do support many of the items in this proposal – for example, extending unemployment insurance, the wind production tax credit and tax cuts for most Americans – I believe they should have come in the context of a comprehensive deficit reduction package. Without a serious mechanism to reduce the debt, I cannot support this bill.

Bennet, along with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), had submitted their own three-point plan in November aimed at deficit reduction during the lame duck session.