Durbin says House GOP budget hurts chance of economic recovery

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Friday that he cannot support the House Republican budget because it would cut too much from programs that will help the U.S. restore economic growth.

"We want to take care that the way we solve the deficit issue is sensitive to the state of the economy and our need to work together to end this recession," Durbin said on the floor. "And so that's why H.R. 1, the House Republican budget, is a bill which I can't support. It really is not a good budget bill because it takes money out of key investments in our economy in a time when we need them the most."

Durbin said the bill would kill education grants, research and development and health research, and said these and other cuts are "short-sighted."

"I would say to my friends on the Republican side, yes, the deficit's an issue, but first and foremost understand, we will never, never balance the budget with 15 million Americans out of work," Durbin said.

The senator said he would continue to work with a bipartisan group of senators on a budget plan. Durbin is working with Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

Senate Democrats next week are hoping to hold votes on H.R. 1 and a Senate Democratic bill that would cut another $6.5 billion from the budget. Democrats are arguing that with the $45 billion that has already been cut from President Obama's FY 2011 budget request, cutting another $6.5 billion would bring those cuts to $51 billion, which meets Republicans more than halfway to their goal of cutting $100 billion.