Chairman Graham: I Am Confident We Will Rise To The Occasion

Chairman Graham: I Am Confident We Will Rise To The Occasion

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today made this statement on the Senate's amendment to the House Budget Resolution.

"Today is one of the most important steps toward ensuring the Republican majority fulfills its promise to the American people that we will secure our border, strengthen our national security, make President Trump's tax cuts permanent, and reduce spending.

"With the passage of this budget resolution, we unlock the ability for the appropriate Senate committees to fully fund our border needs for four years, provide much-needed financial relief to our military at a time of great danger, make the 2017 tax cuts permanent to energize the economy, and do what has been promised for decades: go through every line item of the budget to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending - hopefully by the trillions.

"A 'yes' vote on this resolution makes all of this possible.

"We cannot expect any Democrat to help us seriously reduce spending or make the Trump tax cuts permanent. This responsibility falls upon the Republican majority and I am confident we will rise to the occasion.

"Finally, Senate Budget Committee Republicans met today with the President. He is fully on board with the Senate's proposal and process to cut spending.

"As Budget Chairman, under section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act, I have the authority to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue. Under that authority, I have determined that current policy will be the budget baseline regarding taxation. This will allow the tax cuts to be permanent - which will tremendously boost the economy. Budget Committee Chairmen before me have utilized section 312 to determine spending and revenue levels, and have also instructed the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to adjust scoring."

Background on the Senate's amendment:

• Adds reconciliation instructions for Senate Committees and preserves the House Committees' instructions.
• Makes important adjustments to allow President Trump's tax cuts to be made permanent.
• Creates savings floor to maximize Republicans' ability to cut wasteful spending while complying with Senate rules to allow the legislation to pass with a simple majority vote.
• Prevents Democrats from using the debt limit to extract a ransom before the 2026 midterm elections.

Text of the Senate's amendment to the House Budget Resolution is available HERE.

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