Rep. Chu Statement on Progressive Budget for FY 2016

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled the Progressive Caucus’ FY 2016 budget, The People’s Budget: A Raise for America. The budget's proposals would create 8.4 million new jobs by 2018, invest in infrastructure, provide free Pre-K, increase the minimum wage, guarantee paid sick leave, and provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rep. Judy Chu, a member of the Caucus, released the following statement.

“While the economy has improved, wages have grown just 2% over the last five years, leaving millions of middle and lower class Americans struggling to make ends meet. Working a full time, 40-hour schedule is supposed to lift you out of poverty, not chain you to it. It’s not just unfair, it’s wrong. It flies in the face of the promise of America. And it is why this budget – The People’s Budget – is so necessary. This budget promises to not only to grow our economy but to tackle inequality.

“I am particularly pleased that this budget includes comprehensive immigration reform,” continued Rep. Chu. “By helping undocumented immigrants escape the underground economy, we will actually be growing the labor force and reducing the budget deficit by $197 billion over the next decade while increasing wages across the workforce.”

The full budget and supporting documents can be found here.