Sen. Carper Reacts to President Obama’s Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released the following statement reacting to President Obama’s FY 2014 budget proposal:

“Today, President Obama put forward a budget that takes a responsible, balanced approach to getting our country back on the right fiscal track. This proposal would reduce our deficit by about $2 trillion through a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases – balanced at a two to one ratio. It also continues to make critical investments that boost our workforce, help invigorate our economy through research and development and modernize our transportation infrastructure, including one of my longtime priorities: a dedicated funding source for passenger rail. I’m particularly heartened by the President’s leadership in suggesting strong reforms to our entitlement programs that strengthen these critical programs for future generations while also making them more efficient and saving scarce taxpayer dollars. Leadership is a two way street, and so I hope that Republicans and Democrats can now meet in the middle to support a ‘grand bargain’ that begins to rein in our federal debt and deficits in a responsible manner. By enacting responsible entitlement reforms that don’t savage the poor or the elderly, as well as raising additional revenues, we can put our country on a sound fiscal path while also signaling that we can still work together and solve big problems. I’m also encouraged by the President’s continued commitment to reforming our complicated tax code, and I’m ready to work with Chairman Baucus in my capacity on the Finance Committee to make the code simpler, fairer and better for Delaware families and businesses so they can continue to compete and win in our global economy. This proposal is a smart start, and I hope it brings all parties to the table to forge a comprehensive plan to permanently set our country on a sustainable fiscal track.”