Hoyer: Obama's Budget a Strong Blueprint for Job Creation, Economic Security and Fiscal Responsibility

"Our budget is a reflection of our priorities as a nation - which this year continue to be creating more opportunities for American workers and businesses and building a new foundation for long-term prosperity, including a return to fiscal responsibility," stated Rep. Hoyer. "I look forward to reviewing President Obama's budget in detail in the days to come, but I am pleased to see that it combines investments to help strengthen the economic security of Maryland families with a serious commitment to reducing our deficit."

Policies put in place by the new Administration and Congress over the last year to avoid a second Great Depression have started to turn things around: job losses are down 90% from the end of the previous administration, and the economy grew by 5.7% in the last quarter of 2009. Today's proposed budget would further the nation's recovery by providing tax credits to small businesses that hire new employees, investing in job-creating infrastructure projects in the state, and committing to innovation in energy technology. The budget also extends the Making Work Pay Tax Credit for 2.1 million Maryland families and includes significant investments in state education, infrastructure and economic development priorities. A breakdown of Maryland investments can be found here.

Other investments outlined in the President's budget request that will benefit Maryland's 5^th District and the region include:

• $163.53 million for the FDA consolidation at White Oak
• $150 million in Federal dedicated funding for the Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority
• $63 million for the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
• $16 million for the renovation and expansion of the Mathias Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater
• $25 million to continue implementation of the DC WASA Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Plan
• Increased funding for NASA operations to benefit the Goddard Space Flight Center
• $34.2 million for the Agile Chem Facility (Phase 2) at NSWC Indian Head
• $42.2 million for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Test and Evaluation Facility at Pax River
• $5.5 million for the Army National Guard's Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Facility at St. Inigoes
• $13 million in critical new research programs at USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

President Obama's budget also makes a serious commitment to deficit reduction goals with a freeze in non-security discretionary spending that will require wise prioritizing and the elimination of wasteful spending. Overall, the budget proposed today would cut the deficit by more than half, from 10.6% of GDP in 2010 to 4.2% of GDP in 2013.

The freeze is part of a series of actions the President and Congress are putting in motion to clean up the fiscal mess brought about by the economic downturn and the previous administration's borrowing. This week, the House will consider statutory pay-as-you-go (paygo) legislation to keep the deficit from growing. Rep. Hoyer also supports the creation of a bipartisan fiscal commission to make the hard choices necessary to balance the budget, as well as the President's proposal for a Fiscal Crisis Responsibility Fee for the big banks on Wall Street that benefitted from taxpayer assistance in their hour of need.  Finally, the President and Congress continue to look at ways to contain health care costs, which is the single largest contributor to the deficit.

"Restoring fiscal order and reducing our deficits are primary goals for this President and Congress," stated Rep. Hoyer. "Because our country's fiscal condition poses a shared danger, I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will give this budget's fiscal responsibility agenda the serious consideration it deserves."