Blumenthal Praises President’s Proposals To Invest In American Middle Class, Infrastructure, Industry

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal issued the following statement on President Obama’s budget proposal and its impact on the American middle-class, and Connecticut’s infrastructure and defense industry:

"The President’s budget would break the shackles of sequester – arbitrary, blanket cuts – with a new vision of meeting middle-class needs and American economic and defense security.

"This budget recognizes that our most important investments are made right here in America – investments in the security and skills of our middle-class families, in our roads and our railways, and in American industry and manufacturing. I am pleased that President Obama is focused on investments in middle-class security as well as national defense – supporting skills training, economic opportunity, and other practical needs of working families with children.

"As the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I am gratified that the President’s budget includes powerfully important increases in resources for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in accordance with the calls that both I and others have raised. The budget recognizes the importance of providing high-quality healthcare both within and outside the VA structure, including more hiring of physicians and better access to services, as well as funding to improve the timeliness of the agency’s responses despite a growth in disability claims. 

"This budget is a solid vote of confidence in Connecticut’s defense industrial base and our national security – a significant boost to Connecticut manufacturers that emphasizes submarine programs, joint-strike fighter and helicopter manufacturing.  The budget will allow Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, and other pillars of Connecticut’s economy to continue to provide good-paying jobs and make laudable contributions to keeping our country safe.

"The budget makes vital, significant, robust investment in our nation’s infrastructure – to repair and rebuild decaying, aging roads, bridges, and rails, and make major advances for a growing economy and the workforce of tomorrow.  I agree with the President that we need to find more innovative ways to make this down payment on our future and look toward tax reform, an infrastructure bank, and public private partnerships to rebuild our transportation system.  I welcome a Transportation Trust Fund to ensure our highways, transit systems and passenger rail network have the steady, reliable funding they require. 

"There is a lot to like here for both sides of the aisle. My hope is that my colleagues will work together to support these much-needed investments in our country."