WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today hailed passage of a federal budget blueprint that, unlike the budget plan proposed by President Obama, outlines a plan to balance the budget without tax hikes.

Cochran voted early Friday morning for passage of the Senate’s FY2016 Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res.11).  It passed 52-46.

“The budget resolution is a fiscally responsible set of priorities for Mississippi and our nation.  The Senate Republican budget balances without raising taxes, provides a means to replace Obamacare, and protects our vital national security interests in the face of evolving threats,” Cochran said.

“This budget plan changes the trajectory of our nation’s fiscal health away from the policies that grow the federal debt to grow the federal debt to maintain an expansive and expensive federal government,” he said.

S.Con.Res.11 contains several key provisions aimed at reining in the federal government and promoting economic growth.  The measure provides a means to repeal and replace Obamacare through the budget reconciliation process.  By focusing on replacing Obamacare, regulatory reform, and increased energy exploration, the Senate resolution would allow the economy to produce $500 billion more in economic output and nearly 11,000 new Mississippi jobs over the next decade, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
 
The budget blueprint passed by the Senate is a rejection of the FY2016 budget submitted to by President Obama in February, which would have raised taxes by $1.8 billion to finance an 8 percent increase in spending next year alone.  Where the President’s budget would increase federal spending by 65 percent over the next 10 years while increasing the total federal debt by $7.4 trillion, the Senate-approved plan projects a surplus and deficit reduction over the same period.

In addition, passage of the budget resolution marks a starting point for the crafting of FY2016 appropriations bills to fund federal government programs and activities beginning October 1, 2015.