Ayotte: No Excuse for President to Miss Deadline to Submit Budget
Fourth time in five years White House fails to send Congress budget plan on time
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said that President Obama's failure to meet today's legal deadline to submit a budget to Congress further delays an urgently-needed debate on the nation's spending priorities. The Budget Control Act of 1974 stipulates that the president must make a budget request to Congress by the first Monday of February.
"On the day that President Obama is required by law to submit a budget, we're hearing crickets from the White House. It's the same on Capitol Hill, where Senate Democrats have failed for nearly four years to pass a budget for the country while nearly $6 trillion has been added to our debt," said Senator Ayotte. "The president is not above the law. He's legally required to send Congress a budget on time, and there's no excuse that this is the fourth time in five years that he's missed the deadline. With four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits, we can't afford to keep operating without a budget. "
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