Washington (October 30, 2015) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after the Senate voted to approve bipartisan budget legislation. Last night, Senator Markey spoke on the Senate floor about the bipartisan budget agreement.
“I am pleased that this budget will provide desperately needed relief from sequestration. It will also increase investments in medical and scientific research, education, and other domestic priorities critical to the Massachusetts economy.
The budget agreement protects 400,000 Massachusetts seniors and millions more across our nation from Gronk-like Medicare premium spikes. It ensures that those receiving Social Security Disability assistance do not face a cut in benefits.
A rational approach to budgeting — unlike sequestration — will finally allow us get back to the business of legislating, instead of lurching from crisis to crisis,” said Senator Markey.
“I am concerned about a provision in the legislation that opens to the door to potentially unwanted robocalls and texts to Americans’ cell phones. To protect consumers, I will be introducing legislation to strike this provision.
I am also concerned that this bill will require the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve without appropriate safeguards to ensure that taxpayers receive the best price.
While this agreement is an important step, I will continue to work to replace sequestration with a bipartisan balanced deficit reduction plan.”
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