WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement on the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request:

“The American people want – and they deserve – a federal budget that invests in our nation’s future, protects our national security, and builds on the economic progress of the past few years while ensuring that we are on a long-term course to reducing our national debt and deficit,” Senator King said. “We can accomplish that goal, but it’s going to take members of Congress putting aside party politics to work together and with this President and the next to make the headway we need. No party has a monopoly on good ideas, and by working in a bipartisan way, I believe we can do some good for the country.”

Senator King, who is also a member of the Senate Armed Services, Intelligence, and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, also welcomed specific proposals from the Obama Administration in its budget that he’s worked extensively on, including: an increase in funding to fight the opioid epidemic that is devastating Maine and many other states across the country, to enhance the nation’s cyber-defenses, and to acquire a heavy polar icebreaker for use in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Additionally, the President’s budget also calls for the simplification of income-based student loan repayment options, a move that is in line with the Repay Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator King and Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) that would consolidates many of the benefits of the current maze of repayment programs into a single, simplified income-based repayment option. The budget also proposes simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to increase student access to federal financial aid dollars. Senator King has joined with a bipartisan group of his colleagues to introduce the FAST Act, which would dramatically simplify the FAFSA and streamline federal student loan and grant programs.

The President’s budget also heeds the call of lawmakers, including Senator King, to build upon the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 reauthorization of the Social Security Administration’s demonstration authority in order to pilot innovative ways to connect individuals with disabilities to the workforce. Senator King has been a vocal advocate for increasing workforce attachment among people with disabilities and has released a series of proposals that complement the President’s request.

Earlier today, Senator King also joined with colleagues on the Senate Budget Committee in sending a letter to Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) expressing dismay over the decision not to hold hearings on the President’s budget request.

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