As a member of the Budget Committee, I am committed to working with my colleagues to return to a normal budget process and put an end to short-term gimmicks and governing by crisis. 

I’m proud to have helped Congress pass two-year budgets in 2013 and 2015 that offset the worst effects of sequestration. Thanks to these compromise deals, we were able to restore much-needed certainty for working families and businesses in Virginia and across the nation. I came to the Senate a strong supporter of two-year budgeting due to my experience as Governor and it is good to see others in Congress finally embracing this helpful reform. Looking ahead, I believe that rigorous debate and compromise are essential to putting our nation on a sustainable fiscal path and protecting the investments that are critical to our future. 

As a Governor who had to keep a budget balanced during the worst recession in a generation and the only Governor in modern times to leave office with a smaller general fund than the one I inherited, I believe my experience is of value on the Budget Committee as Congress wrestles with the fiscal challenges our nation continues to face. Through rigorous debate and compromise, we can put forward a balanced and comprehensive deficit reduction plan that puts our country on a sustainable path and protects the investments that are critical to our future.