WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today released the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget proposal:
“Budgets are about priorities, and President Obama’s budget would help close persistent gaps in fairness, access, and opportunity for New Jersey working families. It sets big goals in a host of critical areas, from prioritizing criminal justice reform and public safety to expanding apprenticeship training and college affordability. Importantly, this budget makes a pledge to our nation’s young people that we will invest in their education from preschool through college and prepare them to compete in a global economy. The President’s budget also strengthens the connection between younger workers and employment by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers and expanding eligibility to young people between the ages of 21 and 24. That will help lift people up, grow the middle class, and make America stronger.
“There are provisions I would like to see improved, and moving these priorities forward will require bipartisan work. From continued FEMA assistance for Sandy-related projects, to cleaning up the more than 100 Superfund sites in New Jersey, we need to work across the aisle instead of scoring political points.”