01.31.13

Hoeven Statement on Final Passage of the No Budget No Pay Act of 2013 in th U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement following passage of H.R. 325, the No Budget No Pay Act of 2013 in the U.S. Senate:

“This afternoon, I voted in favor of the No Budget No Pay Act of 2013. I believe we need a budget with real reforms and real savings. This measure will suspend the nation’s debt ceiling until May 18 but require both Houses of Congress to produce a budget for the 2014 fiscal year by April 15, 2013.

“In addition, I cosponsored legislation led by Senator Rob Portman of Ohio that would require a dollar of savings for every dollar we raise the debt ceiling. I believe that measure should have been a part of this bill, but it wasn’t included in the final passage. That is the kind of approach we need to take as we work through the budget process in the coming months.

“In order to meet our nation’s ongoing fiscal difficulties, we need real savings combined with pro-growth tax and entitlement reform to get our debt and deficit under control, grow our economy and create the jobs our country so desperately needs. That’s how we do things in North Dakota, and that’s how we need to do things in Washington.”