Rep. Pascrell Says President Obama's Proposed National Budget Reins in Spending While Maintaining Investments Aimed at Economic Recovery

Press Release

In reaction to President Barack Obama's proposed national budget, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today emphasized the need to maintain the nation's progress toward Recovery and provide for the Americans' security.

"The President has provided a very considered proposal for our nation's spending as well as some first steps in dealing with our national debt. Making Build American Bonds permanent and increasing infrastructure spending are two recommendations that would help us maintain the progress the nation has made toward economic recovery. The three-year patch to the alternate-minimum tax would be good step toward making sure more middle-class Americans are protected from this program that never intended to target them," said Pascrell, a member of the House Budget Committee.

"There are also parts of this plan that would be painful to my constituents. A $950 million cut to the state revolving fund that helps us ensure residents have clear water and wastewater services is going to have a direct impact on people in the 8th District. In the midst of a long, harsh winter, it's difficult to swallow the idea of drastic cuts in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that will most certainly put more local people out in the cold. Local communities already under tremendous fiscal constraint would be under more duress if Community Development Block Grants lost funding, as this budget recommends.

Now the dialogue on planning the nation's future has begun. Undoubtedly, tough choices need to be made to restore our nation's fiscal health, and that's exactly what the President's budget reflects. I'll take that over what the Republicans have put on the table: slash and burn budgeting to reach an arbitrary number will eliminate jobs and take the legs out of economic recovery."

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