Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, a senior member of the House Budget Committee, today supported the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution offered by Chairman Paul Ryan, which passed in the Committee 19–18.

The Budget Resolution must be passed every year by the House and the Senate to set top-level spending limits that Congress then adheres to when crafting its appropriations bills that year. While the House budget sets responsible spending limits and suggests pathways for finding significant savings in mandatory spending programs, the Senate has, for the third year in a row, failed to pass a budget or even offer one.  On Tuesday Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad filed to deem automatic spending levels without requiring a vote on them.

“I was glad to support this budget proposal and pleased it passed out of the Committee,” said Simpson. “I commend Chairman Ryan for offering this proposal, which, though it is unlikely to receive any counter proposal from Congressional Democrats beyond demagoguery, includes many bold and tough reforms.”

The Republican budget offers a real plan to reduce the deficit and cut spending, and puts the country on a fiscally sustainable path. It differs greatly from the budget proposed by President Obama last month. Some of the notable provisions in the Republican budget include:

• Cuts spending by $5 trillion relative to the President's budget, which features
  a net $1.5 trillion increase in federal spending.
• Reforms our 19th century tax code to create a fairer, flatter tax rate and ends special interest
  loopholes while lowering tax rates for all Americans.  President Obama's budget imposes a $2 trillion dollar tax increase. 
• Protects seniors and saves the strained Medicare program by reforming it to control costs by offering choice and competition while also making no changes to the benefits of current seniors and those 55 years or older. It also ensures that traditional Medicare remains an option for anyone who wants it.  President Obama offered no substantive proposal to deal with Medicare.
• Reduces the debt to sustainable levels over the next decade and pays off the debt over time.  The
  President’s budget adds $11 trillion to the debt over the next decade with no plan to pay it off in the future. 

Simpson has been a strong supporter of deficit reform proposals, like the Simpson-Bowles proposal, that include tax reform, entitlement reform, and significant spending reductions.  While the Republican budget is unlikely to receive bipartisan support, it signifies the intention of House Republicans to fix our spending problems and bring the debt back under control.

“This budget takes our debt problem seriously, which is, unfortunately, more than we have seen from the White House or the U.S. Senate,” added Simpson.  “House Republicans have acted, despite so-called political experts numerous claims that it will hurt us in an election year.  We have offered a budget that confronts the problems head on.”

The Budget Resolution now moves to the House floor for consideration next week.