On May 25, by a vote of 40-57, the Senate voted down the House-passed fiscal year 2012 budget resolution. Five Republicans - Scott Brown (Mass.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), and Rand Paul (Ky.) - and every Democrat voted against the budget.
Following that vote, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell forced a vote on President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget. The Obama budget vote fell by 0-97. Democrats sought cover for voting against the Obama budget because the president essentially offered new deficit reduction numbers in a speech last month.
The Democrats in the Senate have yet to offer up a budget plan of their own and do not plan to do so before July. Instead they are waiting to see the product of Vice President Biden’s bipartisan deficit reduction talks. All of these votes and deficit reduction talks are taking place under the large shadow of the need to raise our $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which was hit last week on or near July 8.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org