MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Senate voted by a slim majority on Thursday in favor of a draft budget for the next fiscal year that has cleared the way for Republican-proposed tax cuts.
"The Senate has passed the 2018 Budget. Thank you Senator Enzi & Budget GOP for all of your hard work. Now it's time for Tax Reform," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted.
The resolution was passed by a vote of 51-49. Republican senators claimed it would open the door for reducing tax burdens for families and small businesses.
"This budget resolution is the first step to pro-growth tax reform, as it will provide the fiscal headroom needed for the tax-writing committees in the Senate and the House to produce tax reform legislation," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi said.
Sen. John Thune, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, issued a statement on the passage of the budget resolution saying the tax plan would help working families.
"We want to ensure that Americans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money and that business owners have the resources they need to grow their operations — creating more jobs and bigger paychecks," he said.
Democratic Sen. Bob Chasey, who voted no, said the budget bill sought to cut vital programs for the middle class to finance massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while Sen. Maria Cantwell warned that tens of millions would have their state sales tax deductions eliminated.
