Late Thursday, the U.S. House approved a budget deal brokered between House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., by a bipartisan 332-94 margin.
Alabama’s congressional delegation reflected that vote, with the lone “no” vote coming from Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville.
“While parts of the Murray-Ryan spending deal are attractive, its two-year effects are financially irresponsible,” Brooks said in a statement released Friday morning. “America suffers from a $17 trillion debt and five years of deficits averaging more than $1 trillion/year. Interest on America’s debt exceeds $250 billion/year and is projected by the CBO to reach $800 billion/year within a decade, thus jeopardizing our ability to pay for national security, Social Security, and every other federal program.”
“Over the next two years, America’s projected deficit approximates $1.5 trillion,” he continued. “The Murray-Ryan spending deal piles another $60 billion in debt onto an already bad deficit situation, making America’s finances worse, not better. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen warns that debt is our greatest national security threat. America’s Comptroller General Gene Dodaro warns that America’s deficit and debt path is ‘unsustainable’. Prudence and common sense dictate that America heed these warnings and act responsibly. The Murray-Ryan spending deal does neither and is the wrong path to follow.”
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, the state’s lone Democrat, voted along with her Republican colleagues, but qualified her support for the budget resolution by saying it fell short in some areas.
“Today, I voted in favor of H.J. Res 59, the bipartisan budget agreement because it represents an important first step towards fiscal responsibility while mitigating the effects of sequester cuts,” Sewell said in a statement. “After more than three years of partisan brinkmanship, Democrats and Republicans have come together to pass a budget that replaces almost two-thirds of the sequester without cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits. This bipartisan budget compromise sends an important message to the American people that we can and should work together. While I am optimistic about this progress, I am very disappointed that this agreement fails to extend unemployment insurance for the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.”
Republicans are preparing to procedurally filibuster the bill in the Senate, leaving it’s passage in question. Ranking Senate Budget Committee Republican Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, criticized the agreement for not doing enough to curb spending levels.
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