President Obama’s budget proposal would spend $53 billion on high speed rail for big East Coast cities while cutting billions of dollars in heating aid for for over 30,000 Montana families struggling to make it through the harsh winter months. Budgets are about priorities, and making sure children in rural communities can go to bed in a warm house is more important than new trains for big cities out East.
Sign our open letter to the president telling him not to leave Montana families out in the cold.
Dear Mr. President,
Last week, the low temperature in Chinook, Mont., was 43 degrees below zero.
But it felt even colder after we read that your budget proposes to take billions from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)--while spending $53 billion to build high-speed railways for cities out East.
I understand the value of rail. But I also understand the value of a dollar. And with our budget already stretched to the breaking point, we have to fund needs, not wants. If you came out to Chinook, you'd meet a few of the over 30,000 Montana families who desperately need LIHEAP to heat their homes to make it through to spring. And maybe you'd understand that your budget priorities are off-track for any part of rural America going through another freezing winter.
I urge you to reconsider the priorities in this budget. And I warn you that I will not support a budget that hurts rural families like this. Mr. President, please send us a budget that creates jobs, cuts spending--and doesn't leave Montana families out in the cold.
Sincerely,
Sen. Jon Tester
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