WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 9, 2016) Following the release of President Barack Obama’s FY 2017 Budget, the BlueGreen Alliance released this statement from Executive Director Kim Glas:

“We applaud President Obama’s continued commitment to building a thriving, clean economy. In particular, we laud this budget’s dedication to clean energy and energy efficiency, to modernizing and making safer America’s transportation and natural gas systems, and to making vital investments in international climate efforts and resiliency. In addition, the budget will help ensure we are building next generation of clean energy and transportation technologies here in America and expanding access to apprenticeships—and the good jobs that go with them.

“The budget will also aid workers and communities impacted by the transition to a clean economy with increased funding for the Power+ Initiative. However, Congress needs to show the same commitment by fully funding this program. The needs are great to ensure impacted workers and communities have the resources necessary to retrain workers and create jobs.

“As the Flint water crisis has shown, there is a dire need for strong investments in our nation’s drinking water infrastructure. While this budget increased funding for drinking water, it decreases funding for waste water systems. There should be room in the budget for both drinking water safety and other investments that safeguard America’s water.

“The president’s final budget makes critical investments in creating good jobs and protecting the environment, workers and communities, and we look forward to working with the administration and Congress to further these priorities.”

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