Murray says no bacon, only hard choices as new Senate budget chair
Jan 14, 2013, 4:28 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2013, 8:28 am
Washington Senator Patty Murray, shown here in a campaign appearance with President Obama, says don't expect her to bring home any extra bacon at the new budget committee chair. (AP file)
(AP file)
Washington has a long history of veteran members of Congress, from Magnuson to Jackson, Foley to Dicks. They were able to bring home the bacon.
“We’re on a diet. Bacon’s off the list,” declared Senator Patty Murray in Seattle Monday. Jokes about pork barrel spending aside, the new chair of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee says she takes her new job seriously.
“Obviously, we have a very severe fiscal crisis, we have to deal with our debt and our deficit and we need to do it wisely. But we also have to talk about the investments that need to be made.” Investments, she said, in jobs training, education, highways and in an aging population.
All while trying to slash the deficit. “There’s no easy answers to how we balance our federal budget,” said Murray. “But my concern is that we have focused so much attention on the debt and deficit that we’ve not talked about the deficit in terms of investing in the middle class, whether it’s education, job training, transportation, the infrastructure this country needs to be strong in the future.”
Senator Murray toured Crowley Maritime on Seattle’s Harbor Island Monday and talked with industry representatives and leaders in jobs creation and jobs training. She talked about what her Budget Committee chairmanship means for Washington.
“It will mean that Washington State has a seat at the table in probably the most important discussion that our nation is having today, which is how we balance our federal budget with the investments we need to make in terms of job training and education and creating growth for the future,” said Murray.
Murray knows that people are upset with Congress. “We’re all frustrated and it is not a surprise, I mean the challenge that we have today is not the challenge that Warren Magnuson had,” said Murray. “We don’t have easy decisions to make. I don’t get to come home and say ‘I’m building you all a bridge’ and be a hero. I have to come home and say ‘We’ve made some tough decisions.'”
Murray says Congress is almost halfway there, having slashed about $1.5 trillion from the deficit. Now, just $2 trillion more to go, but no trillion dollar coins available for deposit.
