By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Friday, March 27, 2015, US Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) announced that he voted in favor of the Senate Republican budget proposal which passed on a party-line vote. Since the House passed its budget resolution on Wednesday, the Senate’s vote today is the next step towards Congress completing its first unified budget plan in six years. Senator Shelby released a written statement regarding the Senate passage of its budget plan:
Senator Shelby said, “At a time when runaway spending in Washington has led our debt to skyrocket above $18 trillion, it is necessary to make tough choices that promote economic growth. The Senate’s budget plan balances in 10 years with no tax increases while also responsibly funding our priorities. By contrast, President Obama’s budget proposes $1.8 trillion in tax hikes on the American people and doesn’t balance – ever.”
Senator Shelby continued, “While this budget plan is not perfect, it strengthens our national defense as we face many serious foreign policy challenges. It also provides the Senate with an opportunity to repeal and replace ObamaCare and enhance our nation’s energy security. The American people deserve for their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent wisely, and this budget proposal calls for a more effective and accountable government. It is critical that we make responsible decisions today to ensure a strong future for generations to come.”
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-46 for the first Republican budget since 2006.
The ten-year fiscal blueprint balances the budget in ten years by cutting projected increases in spending and includes no new taxes. It also calls for full repeal of President Obama’s health care law and increased Medicare savings.
The debate went well into the early morning hours. Democrats attempted to ad on a number of politically charged amendments to the GOP’s 10-year budget proposal. The vote finally concluded at 3 a.m. Friday.
The GOP controlled House of Representatives passed a similar budget proposal earlier in the week.
On Thursday, President Obama slammed the GOP’s budget proposals in a speech in Birmingham. Pres. Obama said, “Republicans in Congress unveiled their budget, and it represents the opposite of middle-class economics, because it would hand out new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, let taxes go up for students and working families because it would eliminate their tax credits on a variety of things. It would cut investments in education to the lowest level since the year 2000. It would double the number of Americans without health insurance. And so you look at it and you say, what are you trying to solve with this budget? They say the reason they wanted this budget is because we’ve got to do this to eliminate deficits and debt. Now, keep in mind, the deficit has come down by two-thirds since I’ve been President. It’s come down by two-thirds. And the budget I put forward would continue to keep deficits low.”
The President’s budget proposal actually never shows a balanced budget even with enormous new taxes and the deficit number he uses is the TARP inflated deficits in the first year of his presidency. The debt has ballooned by over $9 trillion during the Obama Presidency and no budget has ever been passed……even when Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress.
Senator Richard Shelby was first elected to the Senate in 1986.
