WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today voted against final passage of the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution.  Afterwards, Wicker issued the following statement:

“On the heels of trillions of dollars of spending on the Wall Street bailout and bloated stimulus bills – measures I strongly opposed – this budget fails to make the hard choices necessary to get runaway spending under control.  Instead, it lays the groundwork for a staggering $1.5 trillion tax increase – the largest tax hike in history. 

“This massive tax increase is still not enough to cover the cost of spending increases called for in this budget, resulting in more borrowing and a crushing amount of new debt.  This budget doubles the national debt in five years and triples it in 10 years.

“Of all the difficult decisions this budget fails to make, the most glaring is its neglect to address entitlement reform.  Spending for programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is on an unsustainable path, posing a very serious threat to our entire economy.  

“Families across Mississippi sit around their kitchen tables and are forced to make difficult choices in order to make their budgets work.  The federal government should have to do the same.  This budget fails to do so, and I could not support it.”