Pallone Statement on President Obama’s FY 2017 Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2016


WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) issued the following statement today upon the release of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget.

Recently, Pallone has been the lead on legislation that addresses several of the priorities in the President’s budget, including combating the substance abuse crisis in his Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act and increasing funding for innovative biomedical research in the 21st Century Cures Act:

“President Obama’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017 is a bold, fiscally-responsible plan that expands opportunities for hard-working Americans and invests in our country’s economic future.

“I am particularly pleased that the President’s budget focuses on creating good jobs here at home by bolstering American manufacturing, expanding access to job training, and making critical investments in our infrastructure. This budget also helps middle class families by making higher education more affordable and continuing to expand access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage.

“Americans have always been at the forefront of innovation, which is why I am so encouraged to see the President devoting new resources to tackling some of the greatest challenges of our day. The President’s budget increases funding for potentially life-saving medical research and boosts our efforts to combat the threat of climate change. It also supports important programs that will help to address the substance abuse crisis that has affected far too many families in New Jersey and across the country.

“Budgets are about more than dollars and cents—they are statements of our values as a nation. This forward-looking budget proposal helps to ensure that our economy works for all Americans, and it deserves to be considered in the House. However, Congressional Republicans, in an unprecedented move, are refusing to even allow a hearing on the President’s budget. We should be working together to grow our economy, not playing politics with the budget process. I look forward to helping advance these common sense, responsible proposals that will help make us safer and stronger for years to come.”