WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the joint House-Senate Budget Conference Committee, released the following statement today after supporting the passage of a two-year budget agreement.

“The passage of the budget agreement marks a major step forward for the country, for the economy, and for Congress as a whole. While I do not support every provision and would have preferred to see a larger and more comprehensive agreement like the one I offered in November, I fully recognize that compromises must be made – and should be made – in order to advance the work of the country.

“The agreement, although modest in scope, makes important strides in maintaining momentum on deficit reduction, in mitigating the harmful effects of sequestration, and perhaps most importantly, in ending the governing-by-crises style of legislating. As a result, this agreement will introduce much-needed certainty and stability to the budgetary process that I believe will be of substantial benefit to the economy moving forward.

“Lastly, in a Congress rife with partisanship, Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Paul Ryan should be praised for their good work in forging a compromise that was able to pass both houses of a divided government. Their determined efforts, coupled with our vote today, demonstrate that Congress can still work for the people. As we head into the new year, it is my hope that this agreement will serve as the foundation for additional bipartisan cooperation and negotiation on other serious issues that merit our attention.”

Earlier today, Senator King spoke on the Senate floor in favor of the bipartisan budget agreement.

BACKGROUND: The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which is the first budget to pass a divided Congress since 1986, will set overall discretionary spending for the current fiscal year at $1.012 trillion – about halfway between the Senate budget level of $1.058 trillion and the House budget level of $967 billion. The agreement would provide $63 billion in sequester relief over two years, split evenly between defense and non-defense programs. In fiscal year 2014, defense discretionary spending would be set at $520.5 billion, and non-defense discretionary spending would be set at $491.8 billion. The sequester relief is fully offset by savings elsewhere in the budget. The agreement includes dozens of specific deficit-reduction provisions, with mandatory savings and non-tax revenue totaling approximately $85 billion. The agreement would reduce the deficit by between $20 and $23 billion.

With the bill’s passage today, the appropriations committees are able to work on spending bills at an agreed-upon level in advance of the January 15^th deadline, which is when government funding is scheduled to end.

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