Jack Lew Makes False Claim About Senate Budget Rules

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ABC’s Jake Tapper catches White House chief of staff Jack Lew making an inaccurate statement on Senate budget procedure as he toured the Sunday shows previewing the President’s budget:

“You can’t pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can’t get 60 votes without bipartisan support,” Lew said. “So unless… unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, [Majority Leader] Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed.”

That’s not accurate. Budgets only require 51 Senate votes for passage, as Lew — former director of the Office of Management and Budget — surely must know.

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