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(Washington D.C.)- Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) today voted to approve a 2008 budget resolution through the passage of the conference report on S.Con.Res.21. The House and Senate have each now approved the Budget Resolution Conference Report, laying appropriate groundwork to begin passage of the necessary budget bills for 2008 and beyond.
“We have passed a budget blueprint that we can be proud of, providing tax cuts to middle-class families, reducing the deficit, following ‘pay as you go’ principles, and balancing the budget in just five years. It invests in the future though innovation in energy independence, education for our children, and recognition of critical environmental concerns,” explained Rep. Napolitano.
Rep. Napolitano, Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water & Power, is especially pleased that the Budget Resolution includes language to help ensure the passage of the San Joaquin River Settlement Act, H.R. 24. Enacting H.R. 24 means that the San Joaquin River, the second longest river in California, will once again have the water it needs to support a viable salmon fishery.
The language included in S.Con.Res.21 will make it easier for Congress to secure funds to pay for the fishery restoration and water management goals outlined in H.R. 24 by giving Congress more options to identify where the funding source would come from.
The Democratic Budget resolution passed also includes the groundwork for the following:
- Balances the budget in five years.
- Strengthens our national security with a commitment to military readiness, historic investments in veterans’ health care, better homeland security, and ending waste, fraud and abuse at the Defense Department.
- Provides health care for millions of additional uninsured children.
- Increases education funding by 7 percent.
- Expands renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce global warming and dependence on foreign oil.
- Protects 20 million middle-income American families this year from a tax increase and makes way for a long-term fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
- Accommodates fiscally responsible middle-class tax cuts, including the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief.
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