Pelosi: 'The Democratic Budget Plan Makes Clear That American Values are the Values of This House'

Contact:Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the House passed a fiscally responsible Democratic budget plan by a vote of 212 to 207:

"Budgets are more than just accounting documents. Budgets are statements of our national values. With this budget, the New Direction Congress is saying that we value families and their economic future. We will fight to ensure that their hard work is rewarded and that the American dream is renewed.

"Because we value our valiant men and women in uniform, we will insist that they receive the tools and training they need to perform their mission and that they will return home to high quality health care. Because we value our children, we will invest in their education, their health care, and their future, and do this without leaving them a legacy of debt.

"The Democratic budget plan makes clear that these American values are the values of this House. The Democratic budget plan puts future generations first by moving us to surplus by 2012.

"While watching the bottom line, our budget is also a plan to get our economy moving by: helping families avoid foreclosure; lowering taxes; investing in renewable energy to make America more energy independent and to create green jobs; creating new generation of innovators by investing in math, science, engineering and technology to keep good jobs in America; rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure; and making health care more affordable for families and veterans. These are priorities that the leading economic that experts have said will put our nation on solid economic footing.

"Our budget is a plan for a stronger America that begins to restore military readiness and better protect Americans against terrorism. Ours is a plan to make Americans safer, and stands in stark contrast to the President's priorities in Iraq. We begin to re-establish America's strength by rebuilding our military, investing in the equipment and training they require, and making caring for our troops, veterans, and military families a top priority."