Washington, D.C. — 

U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) made the following statement today regarding the release of President Obama’s long-delayed FY 2015 budget proposal:

“With over two years still left in his presidency, and millions of middle-income Americans hurting in this weak economy, it’s unfortunate the president has already given up on addressing our economic woes and is content to put forward a budget that merely panders to his political base. Not only does his budget propose the same failed policies of the past five years, but it contains a number of concerns for South Dakota. From enacting a backdoor energy tax, to calling for cuts to the National Guard, to failing to move the Lewis and Clark water project forward, the president’s proposals hurt South Dakotans while exploding the size of the federal government and saddle American families with higher taxes. It’s long past time for the president to get serious about working with Congress to pass bipartisan reforms that will actually improve Americans’ lives, like repealing the medical device tax, approving the Keystone XL pipeline, and enacting Trade Promotion Authority.”