Dem Senators Bayh and Nelson Buck Party and Reject Budget

Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) top, and Evan Bayh (D-IN)

Only two Democratic Senators voted against the Democratic Budget Resolution last night. Those Senators were Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Both took pains to mention that this budget is an improvement over budgets past because of it's transparent accounting. The budget for fiscal year 2010, just passed by both houses last night, provides funding for the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, which were normally funded through the allocation of emergency funds, during the Bush Administration.

It's interesting to note that in spite of Nelson's stated reason for voting against resolution ("...disappointed that this budget was passed without the cuts in spending that I had hoped for.") he didn't offer any amendments to the budget, but merely "supported many", according to his Press Secretary, Clay Westrope.

Bayh, on the other hand, proposed and passed an amendment that extended tax cuts to middle class families. In spite of his amendments passage, he couldn't bring himself to vote for a budget that increased the deficit by so much.