Washington, DC -  ­ Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of twin energy and environment panels in Congress, today voted in favor of a federal budget that will set both Massachusetts and the country back on the path to prosperity.

“Today the House voted to put the health of our economy, the health of our people, and the health of our planet at the forefront by passing a strong budget that will grow our economy, create jobs and cut the deficit in the long-term,” said Rep Markey.

“The failed policies of the previous administration got us into this mess, but with this budget, Democrats have outlined a roadmap to fix our broken health care system, restore fiscal responsibility to Washington and create jobs with targeted investments in the clean energy.”

The House-passed long term economic plan will shrink the deficit nearly two-thirds by 2013.  It cuts taxes for middle class families by $1.5 trillion.  It will create jobs and grow our economy with targeted investments and reforms in health care, clean energy and education while reducing non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level in nearly half a century.  This long term economic plan ushers in a new era of honesty in budgeting by fully accounting for known expenses like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that previous administrations left out in order to make the deficit look smaller.  To bring change and restore fiscal integrity to Washington, this budget puts an unprecedented effort on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government spending.

“Along with President Obama, Democrats in Congress are taking strong steps towards reserving 8 years of failed policies and securing a prosperous future for our state and the nation.”