Congress has taken a first step towards approving President Barack Obama’s transformational plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system, make college more accessible, and eliminate wasteful subsidies and abusive tax shelters and loopholes. Taken as a whole, it prioritizes the concerns of the public over those of Washington's entrenched special interests.

Similar resolutions passed in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate that reflect President Obama’s commitment to responsibly tackle critical public interest priorities. Right now, Congress is debating President Obama's 2010 budget proposal, which could have profoundly positive effects on American families.

Ohio PIRG has joined with the Renew and Rebuild America campaign to make sure the president's budget passes Congress with all of its public interest priorities intact. Across the country, State PIRGs is launching a coordinated campaign, hosting large events, organizing call-in days, and reaching out to the media to make sure Congress does not miss this historic opportunity.

Tell Congress that America needs the president's budget.

Call your elected representative and senators. Tell them that the investments that President Obama's budget makes will get the country moving again. Click here for more information.

Special interests have dominated Washington for so long that the federal budget has come to reflect their interests over that of the American people. Skyrocketing health care costs have created insecurity, while health insurers and hospitals experience record profits. Insufficient student aid makes college increasingly out of reach, while lenders receive massive subsidies to make student loans. While millions of families dutifully paid their taxes, large corporations avoid paying their fair share through tax loopholes made ever wider. Improvements to our quality of life such as better public transit and internet are not prioritized while wasteful spending on ineffective projects continue year after year.

The president's budget plan tackles these problems head on. From lowering health care costs to making college affordable, from making the tax code fair to bettering public transportation and internet access, this budget is not just a set of line items. It is a chance to hit the reset button on America's priorities and transform our national agenda to benefit the public interest.