Following is a statement from U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) after he voted in support of the House’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2014 that will cut spending and restore balance to the budget over the next decade:

“I am extremely pleased that for the third year in a row the House of Representatives has stepped up and passed a responsible plan that will balance the budget over the next decade by cutting government spending, reforming government programs, and creating new economic opportunities for hard-working Americans through lower tax rates and economic growth. At the end of the day, we have a plan before us that balances the budget in the next decade which, in turn, provides the kind of certainty we need to encourage investment, expansion and the entrepeneurial spirit that is critical to a healthy economy. This plan also is significant because for those hard-working folks trying to keep up with health care costs, as our budget will repeal Obamacare and open the way for much-needed patient centered reforms that our country desperately needs and deserves. It is now my hope that the Senate will finally make a good faith effort to work with us on a responsible budget plan and that the White House acknowledges that we do have a growing debt problem. Our debt problem grows more serious every day, but our budget can be balanced by cutting spending, reforming government programs, enacting pro-growth tax reform to lower rates for all Americans, and repealing the president’s failed health care law. That is exactly what the plan passed today seeks to accomplish.”