WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), the Senate early this morning passed a two-year budget agreement that avoids a default on government debt and lifts sequestration for defense and non-defense domestic spending, a move which Senator King has long advocated. Following the vote, Senator King released the following statement:

            “No budget is ever perfect, and this one certainly isn’t an exception – but the stability and certainty provided under this agreement will go a long way for Maine in supporting the economy and job creation. By lifting arbitrary spending caps, this bill will allow for greater investment in a wide-range of priorities, from education to infrastructure to the military. Importantly, this also puts at least a temporary end to the cycles of governing by crisis that have only damaged our economy and further eroded this institution’s credibility in the eyes of the American people.”

Senator King has been a strong proponent of lifting the caps established by sequestration, as this budget agreement does, repeatedly expressing concern for how sequestration hurts the economy and hurts Maine. As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, he has advocated for a more balanced approach to budgeting that does not focus exclusively on spending cuts or revenue increases but rather, that adopts a measured approach that incorporates both.

Senator King led an informal, bipartisan group of his colleagues in trying to develop a plan to provide responsible sequester relief to non-defense domestic and defense discretionary spending, and earlier this year, he partnered with Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) to offer an amendment to the Senate budget, which was accepted by a vote of 50-48, that was similar in concept to the agreement finally adopted Friday morning.

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