Durbin: President Obama's Budget Will Help Create Jobs and Put Us On a Path Towards Reducing Our Debt
With 13.9 million Americans still searching for work, President proposes investments in programs that build, educate and innovate
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the budget that President Obama delivered makes tough choices to get us back on a stable financial footing while investing in programs that encourage Americans to out-build, out-educate and out-innovate our rivals. Durbin, a member of the President’s bipartisan fiscal commission, has been working with Senators from both parties to develop a responsible plan for reducing our debts in the future while promoting desperately-needed job creation now.
“America owes over $14 trillion to our creditors. At the same time, 13.9 million Americans are still searching for work,” said Durbin. “The President’s Budget addresses this reality by making a down payment on reducing our deficits while investing in our economic competitiveness. The Budget would reduce projected deficits by more than $1 trillion and spur long term economic growth, which will help Americans get back to work.”
Two-thirds of the $1 trillion in deficit reductions will come from spending cuts. The budget also includes a five-year non-security spending freeze that will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next ten years and will bring that category of spending to the lowest levels since President Eisenhower.
Investing in Programs that Build
President Obama’s Budget calls for a $556 billion, six-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal that invests in America’s future, creates jobs, and reforms how Federal dollars are spent. As part of this plan, the Budget front-loads funding by $50 billion in the first year to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in industries suffering from protracted unemployment.
The Budget calls for an 86 percent increase in transportation spending in FY 2012 compared to FY 2010. In Illinois, if the President’s budget is fully funded and historical patterns for the share of funds received by Illinois continues, the state could receive the following investments in our infrastructure:
· $2.4 billion for roads and bridges.
· $242 million for airport improvements, including O’Hare modernization.
· $234 million for safe water and drinking water upgrades.
Investing in Programs that Educate
The President’s Budget also recommends increased investments in key education programs for the next fiscal year to help our students and our workers to prepare for the jobs of the 21st century.
In Illinois, if the President’s budget is fully funded and historical patterns for the share of funds received by Illinois continues, the state would receive the following investments in education:
· $410 million for Head Start and child care programs focused on young children who will hugely benefit from learning to read with their peers.
· $440 for elementary and secondary education to help provide high-quality schooling in low-income communities.
· $11 billion for grants and loans to help families in Illinois afford college.
· $330 million for worker training, especially for programs that help local employers and local community colleges work together to train available local workers to do the jobs that local employers want to fill.
Investing in Programs that Promote Innovation
Finally, the President’s Budget also recommends targeted investments in key research and development programs for the next fiscal year to help promote innovation on our campuses and in our labs so that the growth industries of tomorrow are founded here today.
In Illinois, if the President’s budget is fully funded and historical patterns for the share of funds received by Illinois continues, the state would receive the following investments in research and development:
· $1.1 billion for health research that can lead to medical breakthroughs that can lower the cost of health care over the long term.
· $1.4 billion for scientific research that will keep the United States on the cutting edge in the development of new technologies, particularly in green energy, that will lead to the jobs of the future.