WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the House-Senate budget conference committee, released the following statement after tonight’s announcement of a tentative budget agreement:

“My hope is this compromise allows us to step away from the irrational harm of sequestration, which hits Virginia harder than any other state. This is a productive step forward that avoids another shutdown and allows the government to operate with more predictability over the short term. I have some concerns about the impact on the federal workforce and our military retirees, which is another reason why we need to tackle the larger and more important issues of tax and entitlement reforms to fix our balance sheet over the long term."