WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) today voted in favor of the Bipartisan Budget Act, which passed the House 332 to 94. The two year agreement would cut the federal budget deficit by $23 billion, while replacing some across the board sequester cuts, particularly to the military, with targeted savings. He released the following statement:
“The status quo in Washington, D.C. is more spending and more government control. This has become as reliable as death and taxes. So when Congress does nothing, the status quo registers as a loss for taxpayers and, most importantly, the nation. In the face of that reality -- the reality of our divided government – there are those who would sacrifice the good on the altar of the perfect. While this budget agreement is not perfect, it is most definitely not the status quo.And that can be counted as a victory for all Americans.
“This two year agreement moves us away from government by crisis and continuing resolutions, where so much of the status quo persists, and back to a legislative framework for reforming federal spending. It cuts the budget deficit by $23 billion without raising taxes at a time when the Senate wanted to increase spending by $1 trillion. It is 100 percent in line with the Budget Control Act deficit reduction numbers and does not end the sequester cuts, but replaces upfront, across-the-board cuts with targeted savings that are both larger and produce additional deficit reduction over the long term. The agreement is also $83 billion below the original Ryan Budget (2010) target for FY 2014.
“The compromise also contains policy victories for those who support responsible and restrained government, including a roll back of the government takeover of the student loan industry and common sense welfare reforms, all while preserving our national defense, which was scheduled to be the only target of January’s $20 billion sequester cuts.
“Finally, this represents a start to returning federal policy-making authority to the Congress through the appropriations process. Beyond that, for those who want more perfect reform and debt reduction, you are looking a couple election cycles down the road. More significant budget and spending reform is an elusive prospect with the present dynamic in the Senate and the Obama Administration. I remain committed to balancing the budget and paying off our federal debt, but quite frankly, we are going to need some help from the Senate and the White House to make that happen.”