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Senator Amy Klobuchar

Working for the People of Minnesota

Economy & Federal Budget

Minnesota has always stood for opportunity through hard work. We believe that no matter where you come from, if you work hard, you can give the uplifting gift of education to your children, you can take care of your parents, and have security in your later years.

To make the most of this opportunity, we must have an economy that produces good-paying jobs and delivers prosperity for all. Too many hard-working Minnesotans and Americans now struggle to make ends meet—squeezed by rising health care costs, soaring home mortgages, skyrocketing gas prices and mounting bills for child care and college. Families confront these rising expenses even as jobs pay less, provide fewer benefits and offer less security. I intend to be a leader in Washington who works to preserve the middle class and provide an opportunity for everyone who shares the American Dream.

Technological innovation will be key to our future prosperity, but America’s global economic leadership is threatened. To continue to lead the world in science, research and technology, Americans must receive the best advanced training and education to compete with rival countries.

Minnesota has always been on the cutting edge of science, technology and new products—from the pacemaker to the Post-It Note. National investment in basic and applied research must continue to be an important force for turning bright ideas into real, marketable products that give rise to new industries and new jobs.

Also essential to our prosperity is fiscal responsibility in our federal budget. Our economy has been put at risk by the reckless fiscal policies of the current administration. In just a few years, the Administration and the previous Congress turned a $200 billion dollar surplus into a $300 billion dollar deficit. I am proud to be part of a new Congress that passed a bill with pay-as-you-go rules requiring that any new spending or tax cuts be offset by either new revenue or spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

I also believe that fiscal responsibility is not just about dollars and cents. It is also about having the right priorities. Do we want a budget that offers extra tax breaks to the people making over $336,000 per year, or a budget that provides relief to middle-class families squeezed by rising costs for health care, housing, college tuition, child care and care for aging parents? Do we want a budget that gives lucrative special favors to the giant oil and pharmaceutical companies, or a budget that invests in our future prosperity through research and development of homegrown renewable energy?

As Minnesota’s U.S. Senator, these are my economic and budget priorities:

  • Bring fiscal responsibility back to Washington. Washington has to get its priorities right and start living within its means. The new Congress under Democratic leadership has already passed a 2008 budget plan that restores the fiscal discipline and pay-as-you-go rules that delivered budget surpluses and a prosperous economy in the 1990s. The pay-as-you-go rules were critical to my support of the 2008 budget. This plan provides a fiscally-responsible budget that funds key national priorities without raising taxes.
  • Strengthen America’s competitiveness in the global economy. In my first months as Senator, I voted in support of the America Competes Act, with increased funding for math and science education as well as new technology initiatives. This advances our country’s economic competitiveness through greater support for our schools, universities and research centers. We need to increase both our human capital and our technological capital to compete in the global economy.
  • Provide needed tax relief for middle-class families. In my first months as Senator, I cosponsored the Middle Class Opportunity Act, which increases tax credits for child and dependent care, makes it easier for families to pay for higher education, protects middle-class families from unfair tax increases and helps families provide for aging parents.

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