WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement after voting to support the two-year bipartisan budget agreement. The agreement, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed earlier this week, passed the U.S. Senate in a vote of 64 to 35. 

“They say not to let the urgent crowd out the important, but that’s exactly what Congress has done in recent years. We spend way too much time panicking in the face of crises we inflict on ourselves. This budget deal means we can spend less time worried about shutdowns and more time working to improve the lives of the people we serve,” said Murphy.

“Congress needs to keep its eyes on the ball. Simply avoiding a government shutdown isn’t success – it’s just barely avoiding failure. Let’s use this breathing room to finally tackle important issues like fixing our broken mental health care system, supporting American manufacturing, and finding a long-term transportation solution,” Murphy added.