Last night the Senate passed their own budget resolution, too. The roll call is here–the final tally was 55-43 with two familiar Democrats (Evan Bayh and Ben Nelson) joining the Republicans, all of whom voted no. This allowed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to demagogue a little bit:
Over bipartisan opposition, Democrats in Congress passed a budget that clears the way for massive amounts of spending…. Although Democrats rejected several efforts to control spending, create jobs and cut the debt, Senate Republicans were able to slam the door on using the fast track process to jam through a new national energy tax. The strong bipartisan vote on this issue should serve as a clear warning to those involved in crafting the final budget: Americans vehemently oppose a new national energy tax that would hit them every time they flip on a light switch, watch TV, or drive the family car.
Next comes the conference, where the House and Senate will haggle over the differences between the two resolutions, including whether to include reconciliation instructions in the final version and, no doubt, a few contentious amendments. We’ll follow breaking developments, and get you more reactions later in the day. But for now, here’s President Obama from Europe:
Tonight, the Senate has joined the House of Representatives in taking an important step toward rebuilding our struggling economy. This budget resolution embraces our most fundamental priorities: an energy plan that will end our dependence on foreign oil and spur a new clean energy economy; an education system that will ensure our children will be able to compete in the economy of the 21st century; and health care reform that finally confronts the back-breaking costs plaguing families, businesses and government alike. And by making hard choices and challenging the old ways of doing business, we will cut in half the budget deficit we inherited within four years. With this vote comes an obligation to pursue our efforts to go through the budget line-by-line, searching for additional savings. Like the families we serve, we must cut the things we don’t need to invest in those we do.
