Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, commented today on President Obama’s first budget proposal, for Fiscal Year 2010:
“When Rhode Island families set their budgets every year, they have to make tough, honest choices – and this year, the federal government has finally done the same.
“President Obama’s budget sets the right course as we weather economic crisis, and makes responsible down payments on our future. This plan invests in the priorities of the American people – not the special interests, the big corporations, or a right-wing political agenda.
“The President’s budget invests in both our nation and our people, with more than $630 billion dedicated to paying for reform of our broken health care system and creation of a National Infrastructure Bank to fund backlogged infrastructure needs. The President has proposed billions in tax cuts for families and small businesses, a pay raise for our troops, more funding to support our veterans, $3.2 billion for the LIHEAP program to help families heat their homes, and increases in Pell Grants for years to come.
“President Obama’s budget also pledges this country to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, planning for the first time that a new cap-and-trade system will generate funds for clean energy technologies and tax cuts for working families. This new commitment goes hand in hand with a significant increase in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, helping restore it to its place as one of our nation’s preeminent scientific organizations.
“We still have tough choices ahead. But I’m proud and encouraged that President Obama has chosen to face them honestly and head-on – and set a course to overcome them.”
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