{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://upton.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364362", "Upton Votes to Break Gridlock, Pass Bipartisan Budget Agreement", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Fred Upton", "U000031", "upton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Click here to watch Upton\u2019s Floor statement on temporary SGR fix The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bipartisan two-year budget agreement that will prevent a government shutdown in January and return the congressional budget process to regular order. Building on the earlier efforts of House Republicans, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (H.J.Res. 59) replaces the across-the-board sequester cuts to defense and non-defense programs, while still reducing the deficit by more than $20 billion and putting the nation on the path to a balanced budget.\u00a0 The agreement includes new deficit-reduction provisions and shields Michigan families and businesses from higher taxes. Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, praised the agreement for breaking through the partisan gridlock and allowing the Congress to focus on long-term fiscal solutions, including comprehensive tax reform.\u00a0 H.J.Res. 59 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 332 to 94 and is expected to be considered by the U.S. Senate next week. \u201cNot much is ever perfect, but this bipartisan budget agreement is a welcome step to begin the herculean task of tackling our nation\u2019s debt in a bipartisan way,\u201d said Upton.\u00a0 \u201cThe sequester was put into place to force the House and Senate to reach an agreement after years of not considering a budget. This agreement keeps feet to the fire for spending caps and allows the appropriators to do their work without a meat-axe approach.\u201d The agreement sets overall discretionary spending for the current fiscal year at $1.012 trillion and FY 2015 at $1.014, for a total of $63 billion in sequester relief. The sequester relief is fully offset by savings elsewhere in the budget. Upton spoke on the House Floor this afternoon in support of a bipartisan provision to the budget bill, which seeks to address the expiration of the current reimbursement rate for physicians treating Medicare patients. Without action, doctors would face a 20.1 percent cut in reimbursements come January 1, 2014. \u201cIt\u2019s important that seniors do not find a lump of coal in their stockings for Christmas. This fully offset package represents access to healthcare for 40 million seniors.\u00a0 It would give seniors the peace of mind of knowing that their trusted physician will be there when they need them most by securing stable payments for doctors.\u201d For nearly three years as Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, Upton has helped lead the bipartisan effort in Congress to permanently repeal Medicare\u2019s fundamentally flawed payment model that is used to reimburse our nation\u2019s doctors. Since its enactment as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the current payment system \u2013 known as the Sustainable Growth Rate or simply the SGR \u2013 has been a source of continued concern for physicians who serve Medicare beneficiaries and for the beneficiaries themselves. Earlier this year, Upton\u2019s Energy and Commerce Committee voted 51 to 0 on H.R. 2810, which would repeal the SGR and replace it with a system that promotes the highest quality of care. Today\u2019s provision provides a three-month window as Congress continues its work on a more complete, permanent solution.", 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": ["http://upton.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364362"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7600761018693447, "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"}