Stepping into the Ring: Senate Republicans Announce Budget Priorities

ANCOR is sharing this press release by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, because it shows how the Senate majority party will be approaching its own initial budget considerations. This is a separate process from the President’s proposal that has garnered the media’s attention for the past two weeks. Note that this is just an initial step for the Senate, and that actual funding proposals will come out of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees in the coming months. Additionally, the final Congressional budget proposal will likely require compromise between the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-led House before it is sent to the President. The federal government will run out of funding at the end of September 2019, to give our members a sense of the timing for this budget process.

As shared by the Senate Budget Committee:

“WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today released the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Resolution, which would reduce deficits by more than half a trillion dollars over five years.

“Strengthening America’s future for our children and grandchildren begins by putting our nation on a more sustainable fiscal path and reducing our nation’s deficit spending, which is approaching $1 trillion per year,” said Chairman Enzi.  “This budget is a responsible first step toward achieving that goal by reducing overspending and setting real, achievable deficit reduction targets. It supports reasonable reforms to mandatory spending programs and works to improve efficiency and accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent, ensuring that government programs deliver results.”

The FY 2020 Budget Resolution:

• PUTS AMERICA ON A MORE SUSTAINABLE FISCAL PATH
  The budget is focused on real, achievable deficit reduction and represents a crucial first step in getting the nation’s financial house in order.

• REDUCES OVERSPENDING
  The budget would slow the growth in autopilot spending and reduce the deficit by more than $538 billion over 5 years.

• BOOSTS GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
  The budget would improve government accountability and efficiency by reducing or eliminating duplicative, overlapping, and fragmented federal programs.

• SAFEGUARDS MEDICARE AND PROTECTS AMERICA’S SENIORS
  The budget would extend the life of the Medicare trust fund by controlling the rate of growth and ensure that the millions of seniors who rely on this program for their health care can continue to count on it.

• MAKES NO CHANGES TO SOCIAL SECURITY
  This budget protects Social Security and seeks no changes to the retirement plan for seniors.

• IMPROVES HONEST BUDGETING
  This budget would institute reforms to improve budget enforcement and end accounting gimmicks that have been used to increase spending.

• PROVIDES THE MAXIMUM LEVEL OF REGULAR DEFENSE SPENDING ALLOWED UNDER THE LAW
  The budget provides the maximum level of regular defense spending under the law and includes a mechanism to adjust these levels if an agreement on revised funding levels is reached.

FY 2020 Budget Resolution

FY 2020 Budget Section by Section

FY 2020 Budget Tables

FY 2020 Budget Overview”