On the recordOctober 30, 2015
earlier this week the White House and congressional leadership announced a budget deal that will avert a potential shutdown of the Federal Government and prevent a default on our country's obligations. This agreement would provide relief to the arbitrary sequester caps for 2 years and maintain the full faith and credit of the United States by extending the debt limit to March 2017. For months we have been calling on both sides to abandon any reckless budget cuts and work together to give the American people much needed relief from the sequester. I applaud President Obama and the leaders from both political parties for crafting a commonsense solution that protects the American people and our economic recovery. This measure passed the House of Representatives, and now it is our turn. This agreement calls for $112 billion in sequester relief, providing necessary funding for critical programs on which many Americans depend. With this additional funding, dramatic cuts in these programs can be avoided. Yesterday I spoke about the importance of biomedical research. Funding for the National Institutes of Health can lead to medical breakthroughs that keep us healthier and save money in the long run. One illustration: One American is diagnosed with Alzheimer's every 67 seconds in America, and $1 out of every $5 spent in the Medicare system is spent for those suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.…
