Sen. Carper Reacts to Senate Passage of Federal Spending Bill: Another Small Step Forward

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the federal spending bill for Fiscal Year 2014, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3547), by a vote of 72 to 26. The legislation now heads to the White House for the president’s signature.

“Last month, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) brokered a two-year budget agreement to break the cycle of crisis governing and return the appropriations process to regular order.  It wasn’t the “grand bargain” to reform our nation’s tax code and entitlement programs that I had hoped for, but, as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles often begins with a single step. Today, we took another small step forward. 

“I joined 71 of my colleagues to pass the omnibus appropriations bill to fund the federal government through September 30. The bill replaces some of the thoughtless across-the-board spending cuts imposed by sequestration to the defense and discretionary programs that are critical to our nation’s well-being. The bill also makes some modest investments in programs that will help the ongoing economic recovery.  I’m hopeful that today’s vote signals that manufactured crises, like the harmful October government shutdown that cost our economy $20 billion, are a thing of past.”