As expected, the U.S. Senate Wednesday rejected five separate budget plans for 2013, including one that mirrors a budget blueprint offered by President Barack Obama.
The lawmakers unanimously turned down the plan submitted by Republicans and based on the president’s budget, 99-to-zero. Mr. Obama’s Democratic Party called the vote a political stunt, saying it was unnecessary since last year’s deal to raise the debt ceiling contained spending caps.
The chamber also rejected four other proposals submitted by Republicans.
The votes followed a day of debate in which senators from both sides accused each other of being irresponsible when it comes to government spending and cutting the deficit.
The Republican plans are meant to highlight the fact that the majority Democrats have not come up with a budget plan of their own.
Some Democrats have criticized their party for the failure to produce a budget. But others argue that last year’s debt-limit agreement, the law known as the Budget Control Act, erases the need for a separate budget resolution.
With the upcoming November presidential election, pressure is building on lawmakers and the Obama administration to curb a crippling trillion-dollar budget gap and decrease the $15 trillion national debt.