Flathead Beacon: Baucus, Tester Two of 20 Democrats to Support Balanced Budget Amendment
Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus were two of only 20 Democratic senators to vote in favor of a balanced budget amendment earlier today.
The Senate rejected two separate proposals to add a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, following the footsteps of the House, which fell 23 votes short of the required two-thirds majority to pass its own balanced budget amendment last month.
The Republican proposal, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, was split on party lines, with all 53 Democrats opposing it and all 47 Republicans supporting it.
But the Democrats’ proposal received only 21 votes in favor, including one Republican, Dean Heller of Nevada. Both Tester and Baucus, one of the amendment’s five cosponsors, supported the measure. Mark Udall, a Democrat from Colorado, was the primary sponsor.
