Sanders Statement on the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act

Nov. 6 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement as the Committee prepares to mark up S.2765, the Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act:

"While I appreciate Chairman Enzi and Senator Whitehouse’s hard work in putting together a package to reform the budget process, I do not support the bill in its current form.

"Though this bill has some positive aspects, at its core is the creation of a new, expansive 'budget reconciliation' process that could be used by Republicans to unilaterally cut programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and nutrition assistance—all supposedly to reduce the deficit. 

"This new proposed process comes less than two years after Republicans on this Committee showed no hesitation in adding $2 trillion to deficit in order to pass the Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest families and the most profitable corporations in America, using the budget reconciliation process.

"At a time when Senate Republicans came within one vote of kicking 32 million Americans off their health care, the last thing we need is a new Senate procedure that could help speed through a repeat of that effort."

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