WASHINGTON, DC— Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) today helped pass a bipartisan budget that will partially roll back the sequester scheduled for FY 2014 and FY 2015 and increase spending caps for those two years. The agreement restores $63 billion in federal spending authority, offset by $85 billion in cuts to mandatory programs and increases in non-tax revenues. The compromise bill provides $23 billion in deficit reduction.
The measure also blocks a scheduled 23.7% cut to Medicare reimbursements for physicians set to occur Jan. 1. Congress is expected to consider a permanent “doc fix” next year.
“This budget is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction. We are finally moving forward, before the eleventh hour, with a bipartisan plan,” said Himes. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on more comprehensive deficit reduction that includes reforming the tax code, fairly reforming our entitlement programs, and retooling our priorities to ensure we are spending on things that matter for the future –like education and transportation—rather than the past.”