Echoing other Republicans who in recent days have hammered the Democrat-led Senate for its failure to approve a budget, Sen. John Thune said Saturday a spending blueprint is the key to bringing the growth of the federal government under control.
“The lack of a clear spending blueprint has enabled billions of dollars in wasteful spending and massive growth in the size of government,” the South Dakota Republican said in the GOP’s weekly address.
Mr. Thune, the Senate’s No. 3-ranked Republican, pointed out that it’s been almost four years since the upper chamber has passed a budget.
“The last time the Senate passed a budget, the iPad didn’t even exist,” he said.
The South Dakota senator also put in a plug for the stalled Keystone project, the massive $7 billion proposed pipeline that would carry oil from Canada across the Midwest to refineries on the Gulf Coast.
“Rather than continuing to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on government projects, Washington should approve private-sector economic projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which the president is blocking,” he said. “This project alone would create 20,000 jobs.”
