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U.S. Senator
Ken Salazar
Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees
2300 15th
Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO
80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C.
20510
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Salazar: Senate Budget Resolution Creates Surplus/
Funds Colorado Priorities
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today, the United States Senate passed a Budget Resolution that
will provide funding to run the federal government in 2008. Congress
has not passed a budget resolution for two years and is still operating
under the Budget Resolution passed in 2005.
“This Budget Resolution
provides a blueprint that will enable us to fund our most important
federal programs, provide new tax relief and extend expiring tax provisions,
and balances the budget within five years – without raising taxes,”
said Senator Salazar. “The resolution is also great for Colorado
because it provides adequate funding for key programs in the areas of
law enforcement, children’s health, education and veterans’ health.”
Overall the Senate
Budget Resolution does three key things:
- It includes two
years of alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief for middle-class households.
This will ensure that 20 million middle-class taxpayers are not unfairly
subjected to the AMT for two full years;
- Initiates a principle
known as “PAY-GO,” that states that if one wants to take
money out of the budget – either by increasing funding for federal
programs or by cutting taxes – one has to pay for it; and
- In 2012, the Senate Budget
Resolution will show a balanced budget while at the
same time making permanent the 10% tax bracket, child tax credit,
marriage penalty relief, adoption tax credit, dependent care credit,
employer provided child care credit, EITC combat pay and sets the
stage for fiscally responsible Estate Tax reform.
The Senate Budget Resolution
provides funding to several key programs that help Colorado, including:
- $552 million
for the COPS program, which has helped put over 1,300 police
officers in communities across Colorado;
- $1.6 billion for Department
of Energy account that, among other things, funds the National
Renewable Energy Lab at a level $385 million above what the
President requested;
- $43.1 billion
for veterans’ programs, including veterans’ health – a $3.5
billion increase over the President’s request. In 2005, VA spent more
than $1.6 billion in Colorado in 2005 to serve more than 424,000 veterans
who live in the state;
- $50 billion for
the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), which
covers 46,775 children and an additional 1,500 pregnant women in Colorado
– ten times more than the President requested – and $2.6 billion for
Federally Qualified Health Centers;
- $3.8 billion
for the Community Development Block Grant program, which
provides critical funds to communities in Colorado and across the
nation, including $38.6 million for Colorado in 2006;
- A deficit-neutral
reserve fund of $15 billion to potentially increase funding for the
Farm Bill, providing support to Colorado’s 31,369 farms &
ranches that contribute over $5.5 billion to the Colorado economy;
and
- Rejects the President’s
proposed cuts to the PILT program, restoring PILT funding to Fiscal
Year 2006 level of $236 million. In 2006, this program provided
more than $17 million to 57 counties in Colorado.
“We need a responsible
budget blueprint in Congress, and we need it now. This resolution provides
that blueprint, and I am proud to stand behind it,” said Senator
Salazar.
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