WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Mark Walker (NC-06) today voted against the federal budget agreement reached by President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell due to serious objections with the deal’s process and its fiscal implications. 

“This budget deal is the definition of business as usual politics,” said Walker. “This ‘behind closed doors’ agreement fails to rein in Washington’s spending habits and continues to volunteer our future generations to write the check for our fiscal irresponsibility. Instead of passing this irresponsible budget deal, we should be taking this opportunity to fix our broken system,” Walker added. 

The Bipartisan Act of 2015, H.R. 1314, continues irresponsible federal spending habits by increasing the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, busting through budget control caps and increasing federal expenditures by $85 billion. The deal’s purported savings will not occur until 2025, the last year of the budget window, and will likely fail to materialize. 

The deal pushes Medicare costs onto seniors through a loan funded by an increase in Part B premiums, fails to defund Planned Parenthood, exploits the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by authorizing the sale of 58 million barrels of oil, and undermines farmers by lowering the rate of return for issuers of crop insurance.

The deal passed the House today 266-167.