Lautenberg, Menendez react to Bush's opening budget salvo

by: Jay Lassiter

Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 03:22:26 PM EST

(Both our Senators sit on the Senate budget panel, so if any has the grapes to curtail Bush's spending priorities, it's them.)

Menendez:

(President Bush) is leaving behind a fiscal legacy of lost opportunity, lost priorities and lost values. Health care, homeland security, the environment and education are areas in which we should be investing, but those are four of the areas which the president has put on the chopping block. The fact is that while President Bush left out of this budget enormous costs like the war and fixing the Alternative Minimum tax, he will leave behind a mountain of debt for our children and grandchildren. As a member of the Budget Committee, I plan to stand up for the safety and well being of the families of our state and the nation in the face of this cynical budget proposal."

By hiding the true costs of the war in Iraq and irresponsibly neglecting our needs at home, President Bush leaves a sad legacy of huge deficits and unmet challenges for future generations.  This is an irresponsible budget and I will fight President Bush's misplaced priorities to make sure we match our budget with the real needs of New Jersey and the entire nation."