Sessions commends Dems for ‘relenting’ on budget

The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday commended Democrats for agreeing to do a budget resolution for the first time in four years, and said that the resolution should aim to balance the budget within 10 years.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has been the leading charge against Senate Democrats for their failure to vote on a budget.

“To compel Senate action I have introduced legislation, blocked recess and encouraged the use of the debt ceiling as leverage. Now, with their pay threatened, and long-simmering public anger growing, Senate Democrats have suddenly seen the light,” he said.

Senate Democrats announced Wednesday that they will go forward with a full committee process. At the same time, the House is voting on a bill that would withhold member pay if budget resolutions are not passed by April 15.

Sessions rejected an assertion by Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Wednesday that Republicans, through debt ceiling crises, have tried to move budget debates out of the committee.

“I was frankly stunned that our new chairman would say that Republicans ‘have time and again pulled budget negotiations out of the Budget Committees,’ when Senate Democrats alone control whether committee meetings occur. They alone decided to cancel them. The House, on the other hand, met its legal obligations,” he said.

Sessions said he looks forward to working with Murray to pass a resolution that balances in 10 years. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has embraced that goal and says he will do it without revenue — something that will require drastic and quick spending cuts.

The balanced budget cannot include gimmicks and must balance including interest payments, Sessions said.

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