There is a lot of political posturing going on in DC right now in regards to Senators up for reelection in 2016. As a caveat to such posturing, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was happy to announce this weekend that for the first time in over four years the US Senate has successfully passed a budget. The vote stuck almost strictly to party lines with a 50-49 vote, ending with a $3.7 trillion budget proposal. The Senate’s budget proposal included 70 amendments that were voted on as well as over 500 that were offered. The budget proposal was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and included votes on the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline as well as an opt out of the Medical device tax included in the Affordable Care Act which would, if imposed, create a 2.3% tax on medical devices. Miraculously, both of these amendments passed with bi-partisan support.

Political commentators, pundits, amongst US Congressmen and US Senators on both sides of the aisle contend that this budget has little to no chance of being approved by a GOP controlled House of Representatives, much less by the White House. “The content of the plan the majority has now approved demonstrates why they were unwilling to reveal it for so long: their proposal, once accurately understood, cannot be publicly defended,” said Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

But, hey, at least these guys and gals are working, right?