Moran: Fiscal Cliff Bill 'Wholly Inadequate'

Although feuding lawmakers on Capitol Hill finally reached a deal Tuesday night preventing the nation from diving off the so-called fiscal cliff, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran is not happy with the new legislation.

Moran — whose district includes Arlington, Alexandria and Reston — called the bill “hastily crafted,” “wholly inadequate” and said it puts Northern Virginia “on the chopping block.”

Moran said the bill leaves the country with three more fiscal cliffs to negotiate over the next three months.

“Each of these deadlines represents a major political battle in which nearly 40 percent of Northern Virginia's economy in terms of federal contracts and federal employees will be on the chopping block," he said in a statement. "Our leverage to strike a balanced deal will only be weaker in those coming battles following passage of this bill."

Still, passage of the bipartisan measure late Tuesday averted scheduled income tax rate increases and the spending reductions required by sequestration, according to a congressional summary of the bill.

Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb voted for it, along with Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, but Moran and Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf voted against it.

Warner said in a statement that the “negotiated agreement does little to address our deficits and it does not raise enough revenue to put our country on a path to reduce our long-term debt."

U.S. Sen.-elect Tim Kaine, a Democrat, was a bit more optimistic:

"I'm pleased that the House and Senate have acted in a bipartisan and cooperative fashion to pass this important legislation to protect the middle class and avert a short-term fiscal crisis," he said in a statement.

"This bill is far from perfect, and it's time Congress stops kicking the can down the road on a long-term solution to our fiscal problems. But it's an encouraging sign that Congress can put partisanship aside for the good of our economy and the American people. Much work remains to be done and I look forward to tackling our ongoing budget issues after I'm sworn in on Thursday."