April 29 – The budget blueprint the Democratic Congressional leadership submitted to the House of Representatives is still too similar to what President Obama released earlier this year. The budget still taxes, spends and borrows too much. The budget passed the House by a vote of 233-193. Congressman Wamp issued the following statement about his vote:

“Because this budget agreement still taxes, spends and borrows too much, I could not support it when so many Tennesseans are in the midst of tightening the family budget and counting every dollar spent, and while many of our neighbors have lost their jobs. This bill also lays the groundwork for possible cap-and-trade energy measures that would lead to a national energy tax, as even President Obama has admitted that cap-and-trade regulations will cause electricity rates to skyrocket.”

“For many years I’ve worked to put states like Tennessee on a level playing field and make sure residents have the ability to deduct their state and local sales taxes. I am encouraged that the budget includes language giving Congress the opportunity to move legislation forward that could make the state and local sales tax deduction permanent. But this requires future legislation, and was not strong enough on its own for me to support this bloated budget as a whole.”