03.10.14

Chairman Patty Murray’s Statement on President Obama’s Budget Proposal

“The President’s budget proposal is a strong blueprint for building on our bipartisan budget deal to create jobs, expand opportunities, and tackle our deficits and debt fairly and responsibly.

“The two-year bipartisan budget deal signed into law in December was a strong step in the right direction, but it shouldn’t be the last step we take. So while the American people have a budget in place and the certainty they deserve that there won’t be another budget crisis through the end of 2015, we in Congress owe it to them to work together to build on that bipartisan foundation.

“That is why I strongly support the President’s proposal for an Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative that would allow for additional investments in priorities like education, research and innovation, infrastructure, job training, and military readiness if the House and Senate approved.  These investments would be spread equally across defense and non-defense programs and would be paid for with a mix of responsible spending cuts and new revenue. I am hopeful that Republicans will come back to the table and work with us to bring this initiative up in Congress as a supplement to the work already being done in the Appropriations Committees at the bipartisan spending levels.

“The President’s budget proposal also includes important initiatives to help families, communities, and the economy in Washington state and across the country. I was very glad that his proposal includes a renewed commitment to a national preschool initiative, an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, critical new investments in our health care workforce, and a comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system.

“I was especially glad to see the President propose paying for new investments in transportation infrastructure with revenue raised through reforming the bloated and loophole-ridden corporate tax code. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp included a similar proposal in the Republican tax reform plan he released last week.  Now that both Democrats and Republicans have proposed using revenue from the corporate tax code to invest in the surface transportation reauthorization and to make sure the Highway Trust Fund remains solvent so states and communities can continue work on infrastructure projects vital to economic growth, I am hopeful we can work together to get this done in the coming months.”