Early this morning, U.S. Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX), a member of the House Budget Committee, voted in favor of the FY 07 Budget Resolution. The resolution passed by a vote of 218 to 210.
“By passing the House budget resolution, we are taking important steps on the long road to fiscal responsibility,” said Conaway, a CPA and member of the House Budget Committee. “Although, I would have favored deeper reductions in spending, this budget addresses the need to spend more responsibly and reduce the deficit.”
The total amount of authorized spending in this year’s budget is $2.732 trillion for FY 2007, including $1.486 trillion (a 3.8% increase) in mandatory spending. The resolution holds non-security spending to a near freeze and it also reduces mandatory spending over the next five years by $6.7 billion. The budget keeps Congress’ effort on track to cut the deficit in half by FY 2009. The FY 07 budget also includes a new reserve fund of $6.45 billion to better budget for natural disaster emergencies.
Prior to passage of the Budget Resolution, Congressman Conaway, a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee, voted in favor of the Hensarling Amendment, an alternative budget proposal that would have authorized deeper spending reductions in order to further control spending. However, the amendment was defeated.
Conaway went on to say, “The FY 07 budget furthers our plan to support our growing economy, strengthen our nation’s most critical programs, reform the federal government, and spend the taxpayers’ dollars wisely. Slowing the growth of government spending is never easy, but we have made some tough choices and we are making progress.”
