Tester rails against ‘off-track’ budget proposal

Senator criticizes president’s proposal to spend billions on high speed rail, cut home heating

(U.S. SENATE) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement in response to reports that the Obama Administration’s upcoming budget proposal includes a proposal to spend $53 billion on high-speed railways for urban areas, while stripping billions from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which prevents families in rural America from freezing in winter weather:

“Talk about misplaced, off-track priorities.  I won’t support a budget that dumps billions of dollars into high-speed rail while cutting something as basic as heat for family homes across Montana and America.  We need a common sense budget that creates jobs and cuts spending, but we can’t afford a budget that hurts rural America.”

Tester noted that Chinook, Mont., recorded a temperature of 43 degrees below zero last week.