Earl Blumenauer: “today I voted for both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus alternatives to the budget resolution…”

“today I voted for both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus alternatives to the budget resolution, in addition to voting for the House Democratic Budget resolution. I believe all three of these proposals have a great deal of merit. The Congressional Black Caucus's alternative provides high levels of funding for important national health initiatives, including increasing funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $10 billion and increasing funding for veteran's benefits and services by $3.4 billion over the amounts provided by the House Democratic resolution. Importantly, the Congressional Black Caucus's alternative provides an increase over the House Democratic resolution in foreign aid spending by an additional $3.1 billion--providing much needed funds to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The Progressive Caucus's alternative also showcased wise policy choices; it also would have provided increased funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program and would have invested in America's future by funding educational opportunities, job training programs, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”