ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on the President’s Budget Request – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “Let me be clear for the sake of my House Republican colleagues: threatening economic catastrophe to cut Pell Grants is not the political winner you think it is.”
***WATCH SENATOR MURRAY’S FULL QUESTIONING HERE***
(Washington, DC) – Today—during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, discussed how President Biden’s budget would move our country forward and reiterated that House Republicans are threatening to hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage in an attempt to make drastic cuts to key federal programs that make our country safer, stronger, and more competitive.
“This budget shows that President Biden’s values are with the working people in this country—putting forth a budget that will build a safer, stronger country, and ensure America stays competitive for decades to come,” said Senator Murray. “The President’s budget understands that tackling the child care crisis is an investment in our workforce and in our economy. It includes a lot of other important investments—everything from boosting the supply of affordable housing to strengthening Medicare and Social Security for the next generation. And those are the exact kinds of investments that House Republicans are attempting to hold hostage or cut entirely as Congress looks to address the debt ceiling.”
“Let me be clear for the sake of my House Republican colleagues: threatening economic catastrophe to cut Pell Grants is not the political winner you think it is,” said Senator Murray.
In particular, Senator Murray asked Director Young about how non-defense spending that invests in families, our infrastructure, and our workforce directly strengthens our ability to compete with China and other competitors on the world stage.
“While it’s good to see many Republicans acknowledge the need to build on key defense investments, I have to say it again: investments in non-defense spending are just as critical as investments in defense spending. We have to invest in our workforce to build those semiconductors in America just as we invest in military readiness,” said Senator Murray. “It’s not a question of either or—we need both.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, Senator Murray also highlighted the importance of President Biden proposing the largest ever budget to clean up the Hanford site and live up to the federal government’s moral obligation to the people of the Tri-Cities communities in Washington state.
As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray reiterated her commitment to drafting and passing the Senate’s appropriations bills in a timely, bipartisan way—and noted that with the President’s budget out now, the Committee is moving full steam ahead to do just that.
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