Senator Patty Murray serves on the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (and she has previously served as the Chair of both of those Committee). Last week, her office issued the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray's Press Office
Thursday, March 19, 2015 (202) 224-2834
BUDGET/SEQUESTRATION:
Murray Introduces Amendment to Replace Automatic Budget Cuts for Two
More Years, Build on Bipartisan Budget Deal
Murray amendment to GOP budget would roll back sequestration for defense and non-defense investments
Murray: “Democrats
and Republicans across the country have said that the across-the-board
cuts to both defense and non-defense investments are terrible
policy…need to be replaced”
MURRAY AMENDMENT BLOCKED BY COMMITTEE REPUBLICANS:
Murray to continue fighting to replace automatic cuts, urges Republicans to work with her
Washington,
D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the
Senate Budget Committee, introduced and called for a Budget Committee
vote on her amendment to the Senate Republican Budget that would replace
sequestration
evenly across defense and non-defense investments for fiscal years 2016
and 2017. Republicans voted Murray’s amendment down in the Committee,
but she plans to continue fighting in the Committee and on the floor to
build on the bipartisan budget deal and roll
back the automatic cuts that are hurting families, communities, and the
economy in Washington state and across the country.
“Democrats and Republicans
across the country have said that the across-the-board cuts to both
defense and non-defense investments are terrible policy, an absurd way
to reduce the deficit, and need to be replaced,”
said Murray while introducing her amendment. “I urge my
colleagues to support this amendment so we can agree on responsible and
realistic topline spending numbers for this year and allow the
Appropriations Committees to do their work without waiting
for another crisis…if my Republican colleagues have any other ideas for
how we get this done—my door is open, and I am ready to get to work.”
At the end of 2013, Senator Murray and Representative Paul Ryan worked with their colleagues to pass the Bipartisan
Budget Act, which prevented another government shutdown, rolled
back sequestration evenly across defense and non-defense discretionary
spending for two years, and moved Congress away from the constant
crises.
The full text of Murray’s remarks introducing the bill follows:
Chairman Enzi, Ranking Member
Sanders, I offer my amendment to build on the Bipartisan Budget Act of
2013 and extend the replacement of sequestration through fiscal years
2016 and 2017.
I don’t have to explain to most
members of this committee why we need to replace the senseless automatic
cuts with more responsible savings—I know almost all of you agree.
Democrats and Republicans across
the country have said that the across-the-board cuts to both defense
and non-defense investments are terrible policy, an absurd way to reduce
the deficit, and need to be replaced.
There are Republicans on this
Committee who have been very vocal about the need to roll back the
cuts—and have even expressed openness to using revenue from the tax code
to get this done.
Last
year Democrats and Republicans were able to reach an agreement that
rolled back the worst of these automatic cuts for fiscal years 2013 and
2014.
Our deal prevented another government shutdown, moved us away from the constant crises,
and restored critical investments in research, education, defense jobs, and more, and helped get the economy going again.
So this amendment builds on that deal and extends it for two more years.
It maintains the principle that
Democrats will not abandon—that sequestration should be replaced evenly
across defense and non-defense investments.
And
it replaces the automatic cuts with new revenue from closing tax
loopholes used by the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations,
which, since this budget already contains massive spending cuts but no
new revenue, would maintain
the principle that sequestration should be replaced with a mix of
responsible spending cuts and new revenue from those who can afford it
most.
Finally,
it includes language to automatically release the additional defense
and nondefense funding to the Appropriations Committee upon the increase
in the statutory caps, similar to language passed in the previous
Senate Budget.
So
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment so we can agree on
responsible and realistic topline spending numbers for this year and
allow the Appropriations Committees to do their work without waiting for
another crisis.
And if my Republican colleagues have any other ideas for how we get this done—my door is open—and I am ready to get to work.
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Eli Zupnick
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
(202) 224-2834
Eli_Zupnick@murray.senate.gov
@elizupnick