Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on President Obama's Budget Proposal

Statement

Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on President Obama's Budget Proposal

"President Obama's budget is a refreshing change from what we've seen over the past eight years. I applaud his efforts to end the off-the-books budgeting done by the previous administration, and instead institute honest budgeting by including costs we know will occur, such as the billions we will be spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the billions more we spend every year to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from expanding to middle income taxpayers.

"I also am encouraged by the president's efforts to cut the annual budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. But we need to go further by putting the budget on track to being completely balanced, something this budget doesn't do. We can take an important step in that direction by ending the wasteful spending done through so-called earmarks. Eliminating that unjustified spending is appropriate at any time, but it is especially important during this severe economic downturn. Congress should take this opportunity to consider other weapons against out-of-control spending, like the line-item veto. I am working with Senator John McCain and Representative Paul Ryan to introduce a line-item veto bill, which I was happy to hear the president may welcome.

"When President Obama took office, he was handed an economy in severe recession, a credit market in meltdown, and the biggest budget mess in our nation's history. The budget he released today attempts to address those critical problems while also signaling a break from the shell-game budgets we became accustomed to over the last eight years."

Source