"The Budget Resolution passed today goes a long way to change the direction of the country and address the priorities of the people of Pennsylvania and America."
"I am especially pleased that the Senate passed my early childhood education amendment and the amendment I helped author on SCHIP. Reducing the number of uninsured children and increasing access to early childhood education will have a profound positive impact on our children and our country."
"The Budget Resolution restores fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget while also providing tax relief for working families, an increased investment in the State Children's Health Insurance Program, more funding to put cops on the beat through the COPS program, and more support for our veterans. This legislation also reverses Bush budget cuts to a number of programs including Amtrak, Community Development Block Grants, and LIHEAP."
Senator Casey's early childhood education amendment would create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to open the door for future legislation to help states expand access to early childhood education. The fund would be used to provide assistance to states to offer free or subsidized preschool programs for low-income families.
Senator Casey is drafting separate legislation to increase access to preschool programs.
Yesterday, the Senate passed a Baucus-Rockefeller-Casey-Kennedy amendment that states, in part, that reauthorizing SCHIP is the Senate's top health care priority and that expanding health care coverage to uninsured children is an urgent priority.
