Hawaii Senators Vote for Democratic Budget As It Passes Shortly Before Dawn
The Senate budget, which passed 50-49, would repeal sequestration and raise revenue through closing a series of loopholes for the wealthy.
The budget, which like the one approved by the House, is non-binding. It is starkly different from the Republican House version, which would leave sequestration cuts in place for areas other than defense, and would not raise revenue.
The Senate budget would trim about $4 billion from the deficit over the next decade but would not balance the budget. The House version would balance the budget in ten years.
Schatz said in a statement about the Senate version
“At its heart, a budget is a reflection of our values and that’s why I’m so pleased to support the budget of Senate Democrats. We finally have a proposal that will enable our economy to continue to recover, protects middle-class families and addresses our deficit. It contains a balance of reductions in spending and reductions in wasteful tax loopholes. The (House) Ryan budget is not balanced and forces middle and lower income families to absorb trillions of dollars in additional pain, all for an additional round of tax cuts for the wealthiest among us.”
Hirono said:
The last few years have been hard for families across the country and we are still recovering from a very deep recession. But this progress is not fast enough for too many families in Hawaii and across the nation.
“The budget passed by the House Majority Thursday, the Ryan Budget, would set our recovery back. And it would do so on the backs of those who can least afford it – women, our keiki and our kupuna.
“Importantly, (the Senate budget) eliminates sequestration, and replaces it with strategic cuts and commonsense revenues like ensuring the very rich don’t pay lower tax rates than middle-class Americans. And it makes investments in early childhood education, clean energy, national security, our veterans and kapuna.”
— Kery Murakami
