Topeka ? Rep. Nancy Boyda said Thursday that she voted against a tax relief bill heavily favored by her House colleagues because it would have increased the federal budget deficit.

“Congress cannot continue to pass trillions of dollars in debt along to future generations,” she said in a statement. “We must do the hard work of finding ways to cut middle-class taxes without inflating the deficit.”

The bill approved by the House adjusts the alternative minimum tax and saves more than 20 million taxpayers from a tax increase averaging about $2,000.

Republicans strongly criticized Boyda, a Democrat representing the 2nd District of eastern Kansas. Only 30 of 435 House members voted against the bill Wednesday, and no others were from Kansas.

Josh Hersh, a spokeswoman for Lynn Jenkins, the GOP candidate challenging Boyda, said the Democratic congresswoman “continues to raid the pocketbooks of middle-class families.”

The National Republican Campaign Committee labeled Boyda “blatantly out of touch,” and the Kansas Republican Party accused her of breaking past promises to seek tax relief for the middle class.

But Boyda noted that the bill would add nearly $65 billion to the federal budget deficit, according to congressional projections. And, she said, she’s voted for similar relief, when it’s balanced with ending “overseas tax loopholes” and breaks for “millionaire money managers.”

“Fixing the AMT is a top priority, and every year, I vote to do so,” she said. “This isn’t rocket science, folks. There are many better ways to pay for middle-class tax relief than charging the cost to our children.”