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U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement on President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget proposal and infrastructure plan. 

“A budget is a statement of values, and I strongly believe the first priority of our nation’s budget should be investing in its people – in our children, families and seniors – and in the programs that keep our nation competitive and our communities strong.

“The budget President Trump released today takes us in the wrong direction. It continues the Administration’s assault on the health care Americans depend upon – calling for hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, which the President promised not to touch. It hollows out funding for student loans, which allow our young people to obtain a college education, and most devastating for Michigan, it nearly eliminates funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This is the single most important program for keeping the Great Lakes clean and fighting invasive species like Asian carp. This is unacceptable. We came together last year – Democrats and Republicans – to restore funding for this vital program and we will do so again. The President doesn’t have the final say in budget matters, Congress does, and I will be working with my colleagues to invest in the programs the American people care about.

“While it is good to see the President finally put forward a long-promised plan on infrastructure, this proposal falls far short of the resources needed to make real improvements to our crumbling roads and bridges, modernize our broadband and energy infrastructure, and update our drinking water systems and high-speed rail. It raises tolls on families, and shifts funding responsibilities to cash-strapped state and local governments. We need a plan that includes real and significant investments to modernize our infrastructure – one that fixes potholes, instead of running roughshod over environmental protections – and I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to make sure that happens in a bipartisan manner.”