The House of Representatives passed by a vote of 235-193 on Friday the FY2012 spending bill put forth by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (left), R-Wis., which would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over 10 years. Four Republicans voted against the measure, while no Democrats voted for it.
The Senate, where the Democrats are the majority party, is currently in recess until May 2, and will not vote on the measure, said a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., will put forth a FY2012 budget proposal “in the next month or so,” the spokesperson said.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement following the House vote, “The Republicans have made a major mistake in turning a debate over the budget into a debate over whether to keep or eliminate Medicare. We have the high ground on this issue, and we welcome a budget debate on these terms. The House Republicans have let Tea Party zeal get the better of them, and this vote will reverberate for a long time.”
The vote on the FY2012 budget proposal introduced by Ryan comes just a day after the House passed by a vote of 260-167 the FY2011 spending bill that was agreed to late on April 8 and prevented a government shutdown. The Senate quickly followed, voting 81-19 for the deal. The compromise budget will cut $38 billion in spending through Sept. 30 when the fiscal year ends.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday laid out what he called “a more balanced approach” than House Republicans to reduce the nation’s burgeoning deficit by proposing a budget that would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment