Congressman Lowenthal Votes Against Continuing Resolution, Calls For Realistic Budget Solutions

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Alan Lowenthal today released the following statement after voting against the proposed Continuing Resolution (CR):

"I am disappointed by today's vote on the CR. I wanted to see a clean extension of the 2013 pre-sequestration appropriations levels, not another deeper and even more painful round of sequester cuts. That's why I supported Rep. Chris Van Hollen's amendment, which includes a more balanced approach to addressing our budget. By including irrelevant issues into the CR, such as defunding health care reform and inserting the debt ceiling into the CR, the overall debate becomes hyper-partisan and moves us away from consensus.

"These are serious issues we are being asked to consider--issues that impact the lives of millions of Americans. We need to start working on realistic solutions to these budget problems. Simply put: today's version of a CR is not realistic and does not achieve the goals of strengthening the economic security of American families and the middle class."