Senate

2016 hopefuls split in budget vote

by Jordain Carney - 05/05/15 6:01 PM ET

Republican presidential hopefuls in the Senate split over their party’s budget blueprint Tuesday, staking out different positions as they battle for the party’s nomination.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were the only Republicans to side with Democrats and vote against the joint House-Senate budget, which passed in a 51-48 vote.

{mosads}Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), two other White House contenders, voted in favor of the budget, as did all 24 Senate Republicans up for reelection in 2016.

The joint House-Senate budget agreement would balance within 10 years, boost funding for the Pentagon by $38 billion and seek the repeal of ObamaCare.

Rubio, who has positioned himself as defense hawk in the 2016 race, voted for the budget, despite expressing concerns about the level of defense spending within it.

During votes on budget amendments in March, Rubio and Paul both sought to push defense spending over the congressionally mandated spending caps. Members of both parties banded together to reject those amendments.

Cruz, meanwhile, had said didn’t support the initial Senate blueprint because it used revenue from President Obama’s healthcare law to balance the budget.

“We need meaningful entitlement reforms, without budget gimmicks,” he said. “I cannot support a budget that claims to balance in the year 2025 by utilizing revenue increases generated by ObamaCare taxes.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, assailed the budget plan for cutting social programs, saying the proposal would worsen economic inequality.

“A budget is the vision for the future, and it appears to me clearly that the two sides have very different visions of what our country should be,” Sanders said ahead of the vote. “Maybe, just maybe, it is time to ask the wealthy and the large corporations to start paying their fair share.”

Tags Lindsey Graham Marco Rubio Rand Paul Ted Cruz