4 Years Late: Budget Battle Begins With More Taxes, More Spending, More Debt

Press Release

After more than 1,400 days, the Senate majority introduced a budget blueprint that ignores America's fiscal challenges and doubles down with $1.5 trillion in new taxes, a 62 percent increase in spending over 10 years, and does not include a date for a balanced budget, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., one of the two accountants on the Senate Budget Committee. He was disappointed in the plan, noting that the $16 trillion national debt is not a sign of a vibrant, fiscally-sound government.

"A budget that never balances is more than a ticking time bomb, it's a guarantee of a bleak future for coming generations," said Enzi. "When our debt finally catches up to us, I don't want to have to say that we thought it was best to ignore the most predictable crisis in our nation's history. We had the opportunity to go in a different direction. One that doesn't rely on taking more money from hard-working Americans and businesses because government can't live within its means. Anyone can say yes to more spending when you don't have to pick up the tab. But the bills are coming due and enough is enough. If government spending more money was the answer, our national debt would have brought us prosperity the world has never seen."

Enzi supported a number of amendments to the budget resolution that would have promoted bipartisan tax reform, limited the growth of spending, and required a balanced budget within 10 years.

Enzi amendment

Senator Enzi also offered an amendment to the budget resolution.

The amendment would have prevented tax reform from being conducted as part of the budget resolution. Enzi said tax reform is absolutely necessary, but to work it should be done through the Finance Committee in a bipartisan manner. Reform through the partisan budget reconciliation process allows one side to ignore the other because a simple majority can pass amendments. This is what happened with the Affordable Health Care Act. Enzi's amendment failed 10-12.

The committee passed the budget resolution on the same party-line vote of 12-10. It now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

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