Highlights of the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget include:

Stabenow Green Collar Jobs Initiative ($3.5 billion)
Makes the critical investments needed to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, decrease carbon emissions and most importantly, create jobs here at home.

       Energy Efficiency and Conservation ($1.15 billion)
      Provides cities, counties and states with resources needed to promote alternative energy usage     

      and energy efficiencies.

      Advanced Batteries ($250 million)
      Increases research and production of advanced battery technologies, including lithium ion  

      batteries and hybrid electrical systems. Without these critical investments, the United States will  

      fall behind our trading rivals in what promises to be one of the most important technologies of the

      future – advanced batteries.

      Retooling for Old Plants ($1 billion)
      Retooling our older manufacturing plants to produce hybrids, plug-in hybrids, advanced diesel and  

      fuel cell vehicles will help keep middle-class jobs in America.

      Biofuel Production and Access ($100 million)
      Investing in the production of advanced biofuels – such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel – will    

      provide our country with access to sustainable energy resources, while providing Americans with  

      a real energy choice. This also provides important investments in infrastructure to ensure  

      consumers have access to advanced alternative fuels.

      Green Jobs Training Program ($100 million)
      To stay competitive, we must provide workers with the tools and resources needed to produce the  

      next generation of green technologies. This funding includes competitive grants to non-profits and  

      private partnerships to train workers that will lead to an expanded energy efficiency and renewable

      energy industry workforce.

      Restore Bush / GOP Cuts to Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy ($730 million)
      President Bush has proposed cutting funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy. This 

      Budget restores this funding, making critical investments in solar, geothermal, biomass, hydrogen

      and weatherization assistance.

Jobs Rebuilding America
Increased investment in our nation’s aging roads, bridges and other infrastructure will not only provide critical support for communities across our country, but will create jobs here at home. The Department of Transportation estimates that every $1 billion of highway spending creates 47,500 new jobs and generates more than $2 billion in economic activity.

Education and Job Training
This includes funding for job training programs that provide retraining and job assistance to help workers that have lost their jobs due to unfair trade.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers assist manufacturers with cutting-edge technologies and product innovation to help them thrive in the global economy. Restoring this investment, slashed by the President’s Budget, will help our manufacturers stay competitive and create quality jobs here at home.

Great Lakes Funding
The Great Lakes make up 90% of the United States fresh water and provide drinking water to over 35 million people. From combating pollution to stopping invasive species, this Budget reflects Senator Stabenow’s efforts to restore funding critical to meeting the challenges facing this unique resource.

Investments in Health Care, Improving Care
Senator Stabenow’s amendment to invest in Health Information Technology will provide a critical first step for the federal government to implement technologies that will reduce costs, improve care and save lives. In addition, the amendment requires that the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration’s health record systems become compatible. This will reduce administrative costs and these savings will go to fund the Wounded Warriors section of last year’s Defense Authorization Bill.

Funding for Veterans Health Care
The President’s Budget increased fees for our nation’s Veterans, including doubling prescription drug co-payments. The Senate Budget adopted Senator Stabenow’s amendment, which rejects these increases, ensuring the brave men and women that have put their lives on the line in service to our country, are not strapped with additional health care costs.

Extension of Unemployment Insurance
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Senate Budget Resolution extends unemployment insurance. Too many middle-class workers are struggling to find a job in a difficult market. Not only does extending unemployment insurance provide these workers with critical resources, it will provide a much-needed stimulus to the economy. For every extra dollar spent on unemployment insurance, economists estimate $1.86 returns to the economy.

Tax Relief for Middle-Class Families
This Budget provides tax relief for more than 20 million Americans who would otherwise be subjected to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

Restores cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
The Bush Administration proposed $600 billion cut to Medicare and Medcaid would harm seniors, people with disabilities and those who can’t receive coverage anywhere else. The Senate Budget rejects the cuts and improves key Medicare and Medicaid services, ensuring millions of Americans are not left without access to critical health care services.

Health Care for our Children
Senator Stabenow continues the fight to provide over 9 million children of working families with the health coverage they need. The Senate Budget provides the resources to renew and improve the successful Children’s Health Insurance Program that already provides quality, affordable coverage to millions of American children.

Restores Cuts to Law Enforcement, Keeping our Communities Safe
The Senate Budget restores cuts to the COPS program that provides much needed resources to state and local law enforcement agencies. In addition, an amendment co-sponsored by Senator Stabenow will restore resources to the Byrne Grant program that helps fund everything from Michigan’s Drug Courts to assisting victims of domestic violence. The Budget also includes interoperable communications grants critical to improving communication between first responders, at the local, regional and federal level.

Restoring Fiscally Responsible Budget
This budget returns Congress to fiscal responsibility, balancing the budget by 2012.