The 2015 Regular Session of the South Carolina General Assembly will come to a close at 5:00 pm next Thursday. Legislators will be spending the week working on the two biggest issues that have dominated the past couple weeks of debate at the State House – The State Budget & Road Funding Package.

While the debate over these two issues is still ongoing, we do know one thing for sure – South Carolina will have a balanced Budget this year! That’s because, unlike Congress, our State’s Constitution bans lawmakers from spending more of our tax dollars than are available each year.

Typically, Congress approves an unbalanced Federal Budget – But that didn’t happen this year. With a new Republican Majority now in both Houses, this month Congress passed the 1^st Balanced Budget in 14 years!

Our state’s Congressional Delegation Members overwhelmingly supported this balanced spending plan and deserve real credit for their leadership and responsible use of our tax dollars. A few of the spending reforms included in the approved Federal Budget include:

Balances the Budget

$5.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts

$430 Billion in Cost Savings to keep Medicare Solvent

$96 Billion for Vital Defense Funding