Shelby: ‘Well-intentioned’ balanced budget proposal would ‘shortchange’ U.S. military

Wednesday, the U.S. Senate considered a comprehensive plan that would have brought the federal budget to balance over the course of 10 years.

The continuing resolution, offered by U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), failed to pass the upper chamber of Congress by a vote of 34 to 65.

Alabama’s Senate representation was divided over the resolution, as U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) voted for its passage, with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) casting his vote against the proposal.

According to Braun, the measure’s sponsor, the resolution would have combatted inflation, made former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts permanent, and “provide[d] the most robust national defense of any plan out there.”

However, Shelby, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on Defense, warned that the plan would have enacted spending cuts to national defense similar to those proposed by President Joe Biden.

While describing Braun’s efforts as being “well-intentioned,” Alabama’s senior senator said that the proposal would have “shortchange[d] investments in U.S. military capabilities.

“I’ve long been a champion of balancing the federal budget, but not at the expense of our national defense,” advised Shelby in a statement explaining his vote. “Senator Braun’s proposal, while well-intentioned, essentially follows the Biden Administration’s plans to cut defense spending over the next decade.

The senator concluded, “As the world becomes increasingly dangerous, we need to invest in our military’s capabilities, not shortchange them. For that reason, I will not support this resolution.”

To no avail, Shelby has routinely proposed a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution before the body. The six-term senator, who will enter retirement next January when a new Congress is seated, has introduced his version of a balanced budget amendment a total of 18 times.

When re-introducing his amendment last year, Shelby asserted that a balanced budget amendment was necessary to rein in the federal government’s “unsustainable” spending appetite.

“[I] have long believed that our Constitution lacks proper constraint on government spending,” said Shelby in a March 2021 statement. “If we continue in this unsustainable direction, the burden will land on our children and our grandchildren. That is why I am, once again, urging Congress to adopt this common-sense amendment that would improve our spending of taxpayer dollars, restore confidence in our economy, and help protect the well-being of our country for future generations.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL