Washington, D.C. –By law, the President is required to submit a budget to Congress by the first Monday of February every year.   Congressman Rick Berg today released the following statement expressing his disappointment in President Obama’s recent decision to delay the release of his Fiscal Year 2013 budget request: 

“President Obama’s failure to uphold his legal responsibility to the American people is yet another example of his failed leadership,” Berg stated. “The American people deserve better.  In North Dakota, we come together, work through our differences and pass a budget.  We honor our commitments – and we meet our deadlines.  To get our country back on track, it’s clear that Washington should work more like North Dakota, rather than continuing with President Obama and Washington’s failed, business-as-usual approach that continues to kick the can down the road.”

The 1974 Budget Act requires the President to submit a budget request to Congress by the first Monday in February of each year.  The President failed to meet this deadline in 2009 and again in 2011.  Yesterday, his administration announced that they would again fail to meet the deadline. The 1974 Budget Act also requires Congress to pass a budget resolution by April 15 of each year.  As of today, the Senate has not passed a budget in 1,000 days.

###