On the recordMarch 25, 2015
as many of us here have said before, a budget is far more than simply numbers on a page. A budget is a statement of values, of priorities, the kind of Nation we are, and the kind of Nation we want to be. For Democrats, that means our budget should help us move toward an economy that is built from the middle out, not from the top down, and a government that works for all families, not just the wealthiest few. When Democrats wrote our budget last Congress, we made our values and priorities crystal clear. We put jobs, economic growth, and the middle class first. We replaced the automatic budget cuts evenly among defense and nondefense investments, with an equal mix of responsible spending cuts and revenue raised by closing wasteful tax loopholes used by the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations. We addressed our long- term deficit and debt challenges fairly and responsibly. And we kept our promises that we have made to our seniors and families. The Republican House didn't simply accept our budget, of course. But I am very proud that coming out of the terrible government shutdown at the end of 2013, we were finally able to break through the gridlock and dysfunction to reach a bipartisan budget deal that put in place a budget for 2 years, prevented another government shutdown, and rolled back the worst of the automatic cuts.…
