{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/on-senate-floor-kaine-calls-for-passage-of-bipartisan-budget-act-of-2013", "On Senate Floor, Kaine Calls For Passage Of Bipartisan Budget Act Of 2013", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On Senate Floor, Kaine Calls For Passage Of Bipartisan Budget Act Of 2013\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 17, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Speaking on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Budget Conference Committee, called for Senate passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reverses many of the across-the-board sequester cuts that have disproportionately impacted Virginia and restores certainty to the U.S. economy, as well as families and businesses across the Commonwealth. Since taking office last January, Kaine has consistently called for a return to normal budget order and relief from sequestration.\r\n\u201cI gave my first speech on the Senate floor in February to urge my colleagues to\u00a0avoid sequester and in the months since I have visited Virginia shipyards, research universities, early childhood education centers and seen the effects that sequester has on Virginians, on Americans and on our economy,\u201d said Kaine. \u201cWhat we've done with this budget deal is take a step back to regular budgetary order to give certainty to the economy. Under the agreement, defense cuts of an additional $20 billion that were scheduled to take effect in January will not go into effect and we will find ways to restore funding and avert sequester cuts to non-defense accounts as well.\u201d\r\nKaine acknowledged that he does not support certain provisions in the deal that were added in order to find compromise with the House, including a reduction in the cost of living increase\u00a0(COLA)\u00a0for certain military pensions \u2013 a measure that was not included in the Senate Budget he voted for in March.\r\n\u201cAn additional weakness is the way we\u2019ve dealt with the cost of living\u00a0increase for military retirees pre-age 62 who are not disabled. I don\u2019t agree with that compromise provision,\u201d said Kaine. \u201cAll the senators currently in the chamber worked so hard to pass a budget in March that did not contain that provision because it was not the way we felt we should be dealing with the budget.\u201d\r\n\"I am pleased\u00a0that\u00a0Chairman Levin\u00a0has signaled his intention to review the COLA provision in the Armed Services Committee next year since it will not be scheduled to take effect until 2015,\u201d said Kaine.\r\nThe two-year, bipartisan agreement will relieve $63 billion of sequester cuts for fiscal year 2014 and 2015 and increase the topline discretionary spending level for fiscal year 2014 to $1.012 trillion and to $1.014 trillion for fiscal year 2015. It will also avert additional defense cuts \u2013 including $20 billion in cuts that were set to take effect in January 2014.\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/on-senate-floor-kaine-calls-for-passage-of-bipartisan-budget-act-of-2013"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8280302174389362, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}