Senator Chuck Grassley issued the comment below about the Senate budget votes today. Grassley voted for the House-passed proposal. It was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 44 to 56. He voted against the substitute offered by the Senate Democratic leadership. It was defeated by a vote of 42 to 58. Both measures needed 60 votes to pass. Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee.
Grassley comment:
"Today's votes emphasize that there are no more excuses for the Senate Majority Leader. His proposal for a mere $4.7 billion in spending reductions is clearly not credible. It's time for the majority party in the Senate to get real about the federal budget and lead an effort to pass meaningful spending reductions. The $61 billion in cuts adopted by the House comes from government spending programs that saw a 24 percent increase from 2008 to 2010. What's more, $61 billion is just 1/25th of this year's $1.5 trillion federal deficit. Forty cents of every dollar spent in Washington today is borrowed. The Senate needs to do its part in responding to the clear message from voters last November. Washington can't continue to spend money it doesn't have, at the expense of future generations."
