Senate Passes Bipartisan Budget Deal – Here Are the 36 Republicans Who Voted Against It

The U.S. Senate voted 64-36 Wednesday to pass the two-year Ryan-Murray budget agreement.

Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) explain their budget agreement (Getty Images).

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, say their plan will reduce the nation’s deficit by $23 billion and scale back the March 1 automatic spending cuts known as sequester.

“This vote shows both parties — in both chambers — can find common ground. We can work together,” Ryan said shortly after the vote.

The deal, titled “The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013,” will replace sequester cuts with savings from future-year cuts, according to the deal’s authors. It also sets the budget cap for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 at $1.012 trillion and $1.014 trillion, respectively. Prior to the bill’s passage, the budget cap for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 was $967 billion and $995 billion, respectively.

The bill will require federal civilian and military employees to contribute more to their pensions, it will increase premiums on companies whose pension plans are insured by taxpayers and it will levy new airline fees on travelers.

These are the 36 senators who voted against the bill:

1. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
2. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
3. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
4. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
5. John Boozman (R-Ark.)
6. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
7. Dan Coats (R-In)
8. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
9. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)
10. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
11. John Cornyn (R-Texas)
12. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
13. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
14. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)
15. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.)
16. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)
17. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
18. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
19. Dean Heller (R-Nev,)
20. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)
21. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.)
22. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)
23. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
24. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
25. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
26. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
27. James Risch (R-Idaho)
28. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.)
29. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
30. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
31. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)
32. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
33. John Thune (R-S.D.)
34. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
35. David Vitter (R-La.)
36. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)

Sens. Alexander, Blunt and Flake voted “yay” on cloture, moving the bill to a final vote, but voted “nay” on the bill’s final passage.

Here are the nine Republicans who voted in favor of the bill:

1. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)
2. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
3. Orin Hatch (R-Utah)
4. John Hoeven (R-N.D.)
5. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
6. Ron Johnson (R-Wiss.)
7. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
8. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
9. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)

Although it passed with little resistance (64 “yays” to 36 “nays” is a blowout in Senate terms), the budget deal, which takes the possibility of a government shutdown off the table for the next two years, sparked a minor war between GOP leaders and several conservative groups including Heritage Action and FreedomWorks.

“They’re pushing our members in places where they don’t want to be, and frankly I think they’ve lost all credibility,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in reference to attacks on the bill. “It just comes to a point where some people step over the line. When you criticize something and you have no idea what you’re criticizing, it undermines your credibility.”

Paul Ryan responded to critics, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), by arguing that the bill, although not perfect, is a good step toward future deficit reduction.

“Read the deal and get back to me,” Ryan said in response to Rubio’s claim that the budget deal would “make it harder for Americans to achieve the American dream.”

“People are going to do what they need to do. Look, in the minority you don’t have the burden of governing,” he said, adding that Rubio’s move to condemn the bill “was a little strange.”

The fact that the deal does not include an extension of the long-term unemployment benefits that will expire on Dec. 28 has prompted loud criticism from several Democrat lawmakers and left-leaning pundits. In the days leading up to Wednesday’s vote, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who voiced her support for the deal early on, advised her colleagues to “embrace the suck.”

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill last week; it now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk for final approval.