WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee and the conference committee tasked with reconciling the budgets passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, voted Wednesday to approve the agreement reached by conference committee chairs Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The Senate voted 64-36 to approve the budget agreement, which will now head to the President for his signature.
“Congress has finally fulfilled one of its most fundamental duties – agreeing to a budget for the federal government that reduces our deficits and invests in our long-term competitiveness,” Senator Coons said. “The bipartisan budget passed today replaces the reckless structure of the across-the-board sequester cuts with smarter savings – found through a mix of targeted spending cuts and new revenue – that allow us to continue to invest in important priorities.
“This budget is by no means perfect,” Senator Coons continued. “It does not address all of our nation’s fiscal challenges and difficult debates remain over how best to restore economic certainty to our country. I also remain concerned about the 3,600 Delawareans who will lose their unemployment insurance benefits in 10 days if Congress fails to act. However, I am hopeful that the passage today of a bipartisan budget marks the beginning of a renewed effort in Congress to return to regular order and end the destructive practice of governing from crisis to crisis. The American people deserve a functional Congress and this is an important step in that direction.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee, on which Senator Coons also serves, is now responsible for producing a spending bill at the levels set in the budget approved Wednesday. The current continuing resolution funding the federal government expires on January 15, 2014.