Sheldon Whitehouse: “I speak in opposition today to the budget resolution put forward by my colleague from Kentucky. Last year, President…”

“I speak in opposition today to the budget resolution put forward by my colleague from Kentucky. Last year, President Biden and then-Speaker McCarthy came to an agreement on top-line appropriations levels for the current fiscal year as well as the fiscal year beginning on October 1. This bipartisan agreement, which included a 2-year budget deal, was passed by bipartisan votes in both Houses and was signed into law by the President. So, as of June 3, 2023, we have had a bipartisan budget deal that is good for 2 years--until September 30, 2025. Just days before a government shutdown, House Republicans have spent most of this month trying to figure out how much of the deal they could renege on to get votes from their fractured caucus. Here in the Senate, this proposal also breaks the agreement, proposing $20 trillion in Federal spending cuts over 10 years but not a single detail about where it would cut. Republicans are not happy to disclose where cuts would be because the American people would not be happy about the likely results--cuts, for instance, to Medicare, veterans programs, border security, national parks, law enforcement, transportation safety, affordable housing, education, and Medicaid. And, of course, the ``drill, baby, drill'' climate deniers would cut climate and clean air and water programs. If adopted, in its final year, this budget would cut all of those programs by 35 percent.…”