Wicker: Spending Bill averts government shutdown
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today voted in favor of a bill to fund the federal government for FY2014. The measure halts new spending for Obamacare, ensures the nation’s troops receive their paychecks, and enacts the lowest spending levels since 2008.
“For too long, Washington has lurched from crisis to crisis, denying Americans and the nation’s job creators much-needed certainty,” Wicker said. “Funding the government is one way to help encourage this certainty. Although the bill is not perfect, I am hopeful this bipartisan agreement represents an end to the Senate’s abdication of its shared constitutional duty to exercise the ‘power of the purse.’ I am also pleased that the bill replaces some of the harsh sequestration spending cuts to our defense and national security agencies, as well as prioritizes programs that strengthen U.S. competitiveness and innovation.”
The “Omnibus Appropriations Act,” H.R. 3547, also contains a partial fix of the military retiree pension issue. The provision will ensure that nearly 63,000 medically retired personnel and spouses receive their full cost-of-living increase.
“This particular provision restores our promise to members of our military who are medically disabled and the spouses of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Wicker added. “However, the fight to restore full retirement benefits for all of our military men and women does not end here. I will continue to work to repeal the onerous military pension cuts contained in the Murray-Ryan budget deal.”
This is a news release from Roger Wicker
1/17
Magnolia Tribune
