The House and Senate passed a bipartisan budget deal recently that addresses spending caps, the debt limit, Medicare premiums, Social Security Disability Insurance and many other items important to Virginians. This budget addressed issues that Congress desperately needed to tackle, and I’m happy to have voted in favor of the deal.

Nearly three years ago, I arrived in the Senate calling for action to prevent the non-strategic, across-the-board cuts we call “sequester” that would hurt our national security and economy. The across-the-board cuts were set up to be so terrible that they would never be allowed to go into effect, yet they have been in place for three years. Under sequestration, we’ve seen devastating effects, particularly in the defense community but also in the broader economy.

In 2013, I supported a budget deal crafted by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan because it provided some relief to defense and non-defense programs from the arbitrary sequester caps and gave certainty to businesses and families around the Commonwealth. But it still left a spending policy put in place in 2011 to drive decision-making in 2015 when threats from ISIL and increasing cyber attacks weren’t foreseen. Without further action, these cuts would still be on the table this year without another compromise.

This new deal provides more than $100 billion in sequester relief over two years for both defense and non-defense purposes, providing much-needed certainty for Virginia’s families, while helping businesses and the defense community better plan for the future. It also prevents certain Medicare beneficiaries from experiencing a significant increase in premiums next year and protects disabled Americans from a potential 20 percent reduction in benefits. The deal also raises the debt ceiling, avoiding a catastrophic default on our debt, which would have roiled financial markets.

I especially applaud the fact that this will be another two-year budget deal. Two-year budgets provide certainty, which has a significant positive impact on the economy. I came to the Senate a strong supporter of two-year budgeting due to my experience as Virginia’s governor, and it is good to see others in Congress finally embracing this helpful reform.

The agreement is not perfect. I, for one, wish we were able to fully replace sequestration and reach a long-term budget deal to address the debt, make Medicare and Social Security solvent over the long term and reform the tax code. But the reality is this deal is a dramatic improvement over the threat of a government debt default, more indiscriminate budget cuts and crisis budgeting.

The budget agreement also proves that Congress is still able to find meaningful compromise, and I look forward to working across the aisle on other issues impacting our families and businesses, from strengthening our schools to fixing our roads and bridges.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine

Washington

The writer represents Virginia in the U.S. Senate.