For Immediate Release:

Friday, March 14, 2008

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Budget Committee, praised the Democratic budget for 2009, which passed the Senate early Friday morning. 

“After years of the Republicans’ unrealistic policies, Democrats are making sure that working families are priority number one again,” Senator Murray said.  “In this economic downturn, families are struggling just to pay the bills.  Our budget will help middle class families succeed, and it will make our country strong again.”

“For seven years, the President and Republicans have mismanaged the country’s spending priorities and created a record deficit.  Democrats are focused, and we have tackled the hard work that President Bush has refused to do,” Murray added.  “Our budget will get the economy moving by creating jobs, rebuilding our roads and bridges, and providing for our veterans – and we will still be able to balance the budget.”

The Senate budget makes important investments in:

Families

•  The Democratic budget makes up for President Bush’s misguided proposals to flat-line funding for education and rob students of the opportunities they need to get ahead.
• It restores the vital funding that the President has slashed from job training programs to help youth, adult, and dislocated workers get the skills they need to succeed in our global economy. 
•  And it invests in health care by adding much-needed funding for health professions, the National Health Service Corps, Community Health Centers, and other programs that ensure Americans can see a doctor when they are sick.

Homeland Security and Justice

•  The budget fully funds Port Security Grants, which the President proposed cutting in half.  And it restores his dangerous proposal to cut almost $750 million from State Homeland Security Grants.  It also restores cuts to local law enforcement programs.  

Transportation

• The budget plugs a projected shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund so we can keep our commitment to states and communities and ensure our roads and bridges are safe and up to date.

Hanford

•  We aren’t turning our backs on the Hanford nuclear reservation where workers sacrificed to help make nuclear material during the Cold War.  The Democratic budget reverses the trend of failing to invest in important clean-up programs.  It is a big step toward getting those programs back on schedule.

Veterans

•  Democrats are making sure that our nation keeps our promise to the men and women who served us so bravely.  The budget rejects the President’s proposed fees and increased co-pays for veterans, which that could discourage hundreds of thousands from accessing the VA.  It increases the VA budget by $3.2 billion over the President’s proposal, and it will fund the Wounded Warriors Act and make good on the promises we made to improve care for our troops and veterans.