U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today said that the reason the Senate unanimously opposed the President’s Budget by a vote of 99 to 0 is because it taxes, spends and borrows too much. In addition, Hatch slammed Senate Democrats for failing to produce and vote on a budget of their own for the third straight year and issued the following statement:
“If Utah families can make the tough choices to ensure they have the money to send their children to school and put gas in their tanks, why can’t Senate Democrats? The fact that they have done nothing to pass a budget is an embarrassment,” Hatch said. “Senate Democrats have shown absolutely no willingness to address our dire fiscal situation. They didn’t even try to put forward a budget, and the Presidents’ proposal failed 99 to zero, because it predictably taxed too much, spent too much, and borrowed too much. Instead of putting forward a meaningful plan to rein in spending and confront our debt, Democrats in Washington have shown once again that their only plan to cut our debt is to tax and spend more of the American people’s hard-earned money.”
NOTE: Hatch voted against President Obama’s budget, which increases spending by $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years, and includes $2 trillion in tax increases. Hatch supported individual budget proposals introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee.