In case you missed it, the United States Senate managed to pass its first budget in almost four years by a slim 50-49 vote.
The body approved a plan that relies heavily on $975 billion in new tax revenue to stabilize the growth of the national debt within the next ten years. The budget does not balance, however, and has a deficit of $566 billion in 2023.
The Murray budget contains $975 billion in spending cuts, including $275 billion in new cuts to Medicare and Medicaid spending. But it also turns off $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts scheduled over nine years. Factoring that in, the budget does not constitute a net spending cut.
This is called a “balanced” approach, nevermind that the result is continued budgetary imbalance.
Both Mark Warner and Tim Kaine voted “yes.”
But of additional interest, Sen. Warner won approval for an amendment that would “repeal or reduce the estate tax, but only if done in a fiscally responsible way.” The measure passed 81-19.
