Franken responds to president's budget proposal

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, DFL-Minn., issued the following statement today in response to the president's $3.7 trillion budget proposal: "The president's budget proposal is headed in the right direction, making targeted spending cuts to reduce the deficit while still making smart investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure -- areas key to creating jobs and growing our economy. I worry some of the specific cuts proposed will hurt Minnesotans disproportionately, particularly cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that would mean that nearly 50,000 households in Minnesota could lose LIHEAP assistance. Anyone who's lived through a Minnesota winter knows that you simply can't go without heat. There are other, better areas to cut spending, such as rolling back more tax cuts to oil and gas companies. As the budget process moves forward I will fight to make those changes."