Opinion: Torres praises Obama’s pledge to fight terrorism
The budget proposed this week by President Obama represents a continued investment in our communities and in the hard-working families of the Inland Empire.
While our region continues to wrestle with unemployment, homelessness, and a transportation system that is struggling to keep up, this year we also witnessed an act of terror which hit dangerously close to home.
I was pleased to see the president provide $2 billion to local and state governments to help them prepare for, respond to, and recover from acts of terror as well as funding to expand the capacity of local law enforcement agencies to work within their communities to counter homegrown extremism.
Representing an area hit especially hard by the recession, it is also encouraging to see increased funding and new programs to expand educational and economic opportunities for young people and displaced workers through the expansion of technical training programs and the creation of the Community College Partnership Tax Credit.
The president's budget also calls for significant increases in assistance to help homeless families, to continue to address the opioid epidemic, and to build on the success of initiatives that have led to a 50 percent drop in the homeless veteran population nationwide.
Additionally, by increasing investment in clean transportation infrastructure by 50 percent and doubling our investment in clean energy research and development, this budget will set us on a course to not only create good-paying jobs today but to thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy.
The funding request presented to Congress is a fiscally responsible proposal that puts American families first and gives our communities the tools and opportunities they need to prosper.
I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues as the budget process moves forward to make sure we continue to invest in the economic growth and security that benefits all Americans.
(Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-Pomona, represents the 35th District, which includes part of Fontana. She issued this statement in response to President Obama's Fiscal Year 2017 budget request.)
Source: Rep. Norma J. Torres, Fontana Herald News