WASHINGTON, May 28 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Friday issued the following statement after President Joe Biden released his fiscal year 2022 federal budget proposal:

“The budget that President Biden has submitted to Congress constitutes the most significant agenda for working families in the modern history of our country. At a time when more than half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck and tens of millions of Americans continue to struggle, the President’s budget would create millions of good-paying jobs and substantially improve the lives of working families, children, the elderly, the sick and the poor.

“Among many other transformative proposals, I am delighted that the President’s budget includes an expansion of Medicare so that older Americans finally receive the vision, hearing and dental care that they deserve. The President’s budget also takes on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry by substantially lowering the outrageous price of prescription drugs.

“As the Chairman of the Budget Committee, I look forward to working with the Administration and my colleagues to write and to pass a reconciliation package that builds upon President Biden’s proposal as soon as possible. As a first step in that process, the Budget Committee will soon be holding a hearing on the President’s budget.”