The bipartisan budget deal reached by House and Senate negotiators earlier this week passed the House by a 332-94 vote Thursday evening. Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte used the news of the vote to go on an odd attack aimed at Senate Democrats and President Obama.
“Our nation has a president and a Senate who are unwilling to do what really needs to be done to put our fiscal house back in order. They have made it nearly impossible to make meaningful spending reforms and are totally unwilling to address entitlement spending head-on, which represents more than two-thirds of federal spending and continues to add to our debt at an unsustainable rate,” said Goodlatte, a Republican, who actually voted in favor of the budget deal, even in the face of his critical comments.
The legislation would end the economy-crippling process known as sequestration while putting a cap on federal spending each of the next two budget years.
The vote to approve in the House came easier than had been expected. The comments from Goodlatte, a 20-year veteran, show that there was still some sentiment from hard-liners against working with Democrats to craft a compromise.
Goodlatte said Thursday that he would have preferred to vote for another continuing budget resolution, “but unfortunately there were not the necessary 218 votes for such a measure.” Then he detailed what a number of critics agree is the danger of funding government through a series of continuing resolutions.
“By returning to a regular appropriations process, we can bring up each appropriations bill separately, and will no longer cede the power of the purse to unelected bureaucrats. Continuing resolutions provide no opportunity to change or update policies and spending levels. This budget deal lets Members of Congress offer amendments to scrutinize and reform every government program,” Goodlatte said.
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