Kaine optimistic about federal budget, managing sequestration effects

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said he is optimistic that Congress will pass a budget this year that reduces the effects of sequestration while containing the growth of the national debt.

Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, addressed about 50 local business leaders Thursday morning at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Forum, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville.

Kaine told the audience that when he was first appointed to the Senate Budget Committee, he wasn’t sure he wanted the assignment because, as he said, “why be on a committee that has one job and you’re not doing it?”

But Kaine said he soon realized how critical the committee’s work is to Virginia because of the state’s reliance on federal government spending. He also knew from his time as mayor of the city of Richmond and governor of Virginia that having a budget – whether one likes it or not – is critical, because it creates certainty for government agencies, contractors and employees.

“That’s something I’m passionate about,” he added.

The committee’s challenge is to craft a budget that reduces or maintains the nation’s debt ratio – or the percentage of debt in relation to the Gross Domestic Product – “without being stupid in the way we do cuts.”

And the across-the-board cuts mandated by sequestration are “stupid,” Kaine said.

He said he believes the effects of sequestration can be reduced through more targeted budget cuts, along with closing some revenue loopholes, and that, he said, will benefit the Virginia economy. The Budget Committee is currently working on the fiscal plan for the two-year period that begins Oct. 1.

Kaine said another issue he is focused on with significant opportunities for Virginia is trade. The state has an international airport, Dulles, and one of the largest ports in the country, in Hampton Roads.

He also noted that one in nine Virginians was born in another country, creating “a network of contacts that has really helped us in trade and in our economy generally.”

Kaine said he often breaks with mainstream Democrats in his support for international trade deals “because I’ve seen the effect on Virginia’s economy.”

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