Albio Sires on Passing the Budget

Here's what our Congressman Albio Sires had to say about passing the Budget:



DEAR ROSSELLA,

As always it is a pleasure to update you on my work in Congress. On April 2, 2009 my colleagues and I in the House of Representatives passed the 2010 House Budget Resolution, H.Con.Res.85, by a vote of 233 to 196. This budget invests in our children, our families and our communities by making necessary investments in education, health care, energy technology and infrastructure, while also working to pay down our deficit in the coming years. Please continue to read below for the specific investments included in the 2010 House approved budget.
Health Care Reform
Supports the President’s goals for health reform by addressing rising costs, setting a path to increase coverage and improve quality of care.
Supports improvements to Medicare’s payment system for doctors to provide incentives for efficiency and higher quality care.
Education
Builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) funding to aid states in maintaining elementary, secondary, and higher education services, as well as continued funding to Title I, Head Start, and special education.
Makes college more affordable and accessible by raising the maximum Pell grant award to provide additional assistance to help more low-income students attend and complete college.
Supports early childhood education through initiatives to help strengthen and expand such programs.
Supports improved school breakfast and lunch programs by accomodating the reauthorization, expansion, and improvement of child nutrition programs for improvements to meal quality and access in schools.
Energy Independence
Builds on investments in the ARRA to allow for tax incentives to spur the development and production of new energy and jobs.
Provides an 18 percent budgeted increase for energy programs, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, research, and technological development.
Accommodates legislation promoting energy independence through a reserve fund to accommodate fiscally responsible energy legislation- including legislation to reduce green house gas emissions.
Veterans
Honors our veterans by providing an 11.5 percent increase in the budget for veterans’ programs.
Affirms the Department of Veterans Affairs current billing policy of paying for the treatment of veterans’ service-connected, health conditions.
Economic Recovery and Fiscal Responsibility
Reflects the ARRA, including its provisions to provide tax relief to middle-income families, create jobs through investments in infrastructure, and extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
Cuts the deficit by more than half in over four years.
Includes investments in oversight and enforcement that will yield valuable savings to taxpayers by expanding oversight activities in large benefit programs, more aggressively pursuing fraud, and increasing tax compliance and enforcement activities to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.
Thank you for taking the time to read my enewsletter. I am pleased that the House has approved a budget that will build a stronger economy, and restore fiscal responsibility. I look forward to keeping you updated as Congress continues to work on legislation to assist in the recovery of our economy.
Sincerely,
Albio Sires