The Republican controlled Senate passed a balanced budget proposal for 2016 that repeals the estate tax and Obamacare Tuesday.
The plan passed in the upper chamber 51 to 48. The House passed the plan 226 to 197 last week. Only two Senate Republicans voted against the budget — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Both believed the proposal did not cut the budget enough.
“This is something many Americans have been waiting a long time to see,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, told reporters. “It’s something they deserve.”
The budget does not need the president’s signature, given that it is non-binding, however, it will direct how much Congress is allowed to spend in a dozen annual appropriations bills. The White House already said it will veto two appropriation bills currently in the House. The government has been operating on continuing resolutions for the past six years.
Democrats were quick to attack the plan.
“The balanced budget is not balanced, and if anyone by any stretch of the imagination could call their budget balanced, one would have to understand what they’ve done to have to get there. For example, they have repealed in their budget the estate tax—just gotten rid of it, which will benefit 2/10 of one percent of all people in America today,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters.
“They eliminate health care. They really hurt people trying to go to college through the pell grant slashes they made. It is hard to comprehend how they can in good conscience go forward on this budget,” he said.