All five Iowa congressmen voted against the plan the Republican leader of the U.S. House presented as a way of dealing with the nation’s debt problem.  

The plan from Republican House Speaker John Boehner would have authorized a limited increase in the nation’s credit limit; it outlined more than $900 billion in spending cuts and it called on congress to advance a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Democrats were expected to vote against the GOP plan and Iowa Congressmen Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Leonard Boswell all did. But Iowa’s two Republican congressmen — Steve King and Tom Latham voted against it, too. 

King’s “no” vote was expected as he is allied with Tea Party conservatives who don’t think the plan cut deeply enough, but Latham’s “no” was a bit of a surprise as he is a part of the House Speaker’s inner circle of advisors.  In a prepared statement, Latham said the plan “falls short” of making immediate cuts in spending.

Later on Friday night Democrats in the U.S. Senate quickly rejected the House proposal.  Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, called it a short-term fix that would put the economy at risk.