SHAHEEN: BUDGET RESOLUTION RESPONSIBLY REINS IN SPENDING, PROTECTS ECONOMIC INTERESTS

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) voted for a responsible budget resolution that reins in the country’s debt and deficit and sets us on a more sustainable, long-term fiscal path. The Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 8) cleared the Senate by a vote of 50-49. 

“American families and businesses have dealt with too many manufactured budget crises, so I’m pleased to have passed legislation that promotes our economic interests in a long-term fashion,” Shaheen said. “This budget rolls back reckless automatic budget cuts, which were never designed to be implemented, and replaces them with a responsible, long-term plan to get our finances in order,” Shaheen said.

“For the long-term, this budget appropriately mixes spending cuts and revenues to protect our national security and economic interests. This plan represents the kind of spending priorities that we need as we work to grow our economy and create new jobs,” Shaheen added. “This budget gets us to more than $4 trillion in deficit reductions while also giving our economy the support that it needs to grow and make job-creation possible.”

The Shaheen-Isakson amendment proposing to adopt a biennial budgeting system to convert the annual spending process to a two-year budget cycle also picked up significant bipartisan support, passing by a vote of 68 to 31. Biennial budgeting has been endorsed by each successive administration since Ronald Reagan was President, as well as by numerous federal budget experts. Twenty states, including New Hampshire, operate under a biennial budgeting cycle. Earlier this month Shaheen introduced the Isakson-Shaheen Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act (S. 554) with Sen. Johnny Isakson as standalone legislation.   

The Senate budget resolution also includes an amendment sponsored by Shaheen (#438) that establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect women’s access to health care, including primary and preventive health care, family planning and birth control. The amendment protects employer-provided contraceptive coverage, such as the access that is provided under the Affordable Care Act. That amendment cleared the Senate on Friday by a vote of 56-43.