Tim Kaine statement on bipartisan budget deal

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on the announcement of a bipartisan budget agreement:

“I’m pleased congressional negotiators and the Administration have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid a debt crisis and provide two years of sequester relief.  The deal provides more than $100 billion in sequester relief over two years for both defense and non-defense accounts, which will provide much-needed certainty to Virginia’s families while helping businesses and the defense community better plan for the future.  It also prevents certain Medicare beneficiaries from experiencing a significant increase in premiums next year and protects disabled Americans from a potential twenty percent reduction in benefits.

“The agreement is not perfect; that’s the nature of compromise. But this compromise is a dramatic improvement over a government debt default, across-the-board budget cuts and crisis budgeting. I especially applaud the fact that we’ll do a two-year budget deal, just like we did when we reached the Murray-Ryan compromise in December 2013.   Two-year budgets provide certainty and that has a significant positive impact on the economy.   I came to the Senate a strong supporter of two-year budgeting due to my experience as Governor and it is good to see others in Congress finally embracing this helpful reform.

“In my three years in the Senate, I’ve done everything I can to address the non-strategic sequester cuts that have been hurting our national security and economy. The world is a very different place now than it was in 2011 when the Budget Control Act passed, and we need to adjust our budget policies to respond to today’s challenges, from the rise of ISIL to increasing cyber attacks.  While I’m still sifting through all of the details, I support the goal of this budget and look forward to moving this bill to the President’s desk.”