Tester hails bipartisan government agreement

Senator: ‘Montana benefits when folks find reasons to say ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’’

(U.S. SENATE) – Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement after the Senate passed the bipartisan government funding bill 72 to 26. The bill, which overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives earlier this week, funds the government through September and eliminates the threat of another government shutdown:

“For too long, we’ve staggered from crisis to crisis, holding our small businesses and economy hostage. We now have a responsible, bipartisan bill that provides businesses with more certainty and makes tough choices so we can strengthen our economy and continue to get our fiscal house in order. No bill is perfect, but Montana benefits when folks compromise and find reasons to say ‘yes’ instead of ‘no.”

The funding agreement comes in the wake of Congress agreeing in December to a two-year budget plan that lifts the devastating cuts of the sequester. The bill repeals $63 billion over two years in sequester cuts, but eliminates or reduces funding for dozens of programs that continued to exist because Congress could not agree to a new funding bill.

The bipartisan measure specifically includes support to reduce sexual assault in the military, fully restores cuts to Head Start and increases funding for job training and veterans’ health care. It also repeals the recently enacted cut to the size of annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments for disabled military retirees and for survivors of military retirees.

A copy of the bill, which the President is expected to sign, is available online HERE. A summary is available online HERE.