NASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney issued the following statement after Tennessee Democrats voted to raise America’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion which follows a vote in December to raise the debt limit by $290 billion:

“Tennessee Democrats just don’t get it,” said Devaney. “Once again, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have won out over hard-working families across Tennessee. Instead of taking voters’ concerns about Washington’s out-of-control spending seriously, Tennessee Democrats ignored their constituents and helped set a new debt ceiling record of $14.3 trillion to ensure Washington’s unprecedented spending spree can continue.”

This vote follows a similar vote in December in which all five Tennessee Democrats – Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Lincoln Davis, Bart Gordon and John Tanner – voted in favor of raising the debt ceiling $290 billion to $12.4 trillion. Today, all five fell in line behind their party’s leaders again to vote for a $1.9 trillion increase that will put our debt ceiling at a record $14.3 trillion. Tennessee Republicans Marsha Blackburn, John Duncan, Phil Roe and Zach Wamp voted against both debt ceiling increases.

“This vote is yet another example of how out-of-touch Democrats in Tennessee have become with their districts. And while they continue to play the blame game for our nation’s record debt, the fact of the matter is they own these votes and the only people they can point the finger at is themselves. I commend our Republican members for standing up on behalf of Tennesseans and voting against this fiscally reckless increase.”

Today’s vote in the House comes a week after the $1.9 trillion increase was passed by U.S. Senate Democrats. Tennessee Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both voted against the measure.