7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Congressman Outlines Budget Priorities
A local Congressman says now that President Obama is going to sign the spending bill that will keep government operating until the end of this fiscal year, he thinks there are several things that should get top priority in the budget for next fiscal year.

17th District Representative Phil Hare got the opportunity to testify before the House Budget Committee Wednesday, and said crafting a budget that will get people back to work should be a top priority.

The Rock Island Democrat says there's one important way that people can be employed again, and help them actually get to work.

"One area of job growth potential lies in improving our nation's aging and crumbling transportation infrastructure. The entire western border of my congressional district is formed by the Mississippi River. The series of locks and dams along the river move 12 billion dollars worth of products to world ports every year. Sadly this system is falling apart, literally."

Hare says a good portion of the 17th District also is susceptible to flooding every year, devastating farmland and causing a crumbling infrastructure.

He's also calling on increased passenger rail service, and one way to start would be to provide it between the Quad Cities and Chicago.
03 11 09 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.