Franken touts additions to Senate budget

Democratic Sen. Al Franken is calling for a new five-year Farm Bill, more funding for infrastructure and a repeal of the medical device tax.

Franken held a press conference at the state Capitol Monday to discuss how Minnesota could be affected by the Senate budget resolution, which passed over the weekend.

Franken also called for increasing access to high-speed Internet service for rural Minnesota and more spending on workforce development.

"I worked hard to make sure that this budget has a lot of good things for Minnesota, too, and it includes several of my own provisions and many of Minnesota's priorities," Franken said.

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The budget passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate would shrink federal budget deficits over the next decade through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. A rival budget approved by the GOP-run House balances the budget within 10 years without boosting taxes.

Franken said he's confident House lawmakers and President Obama will support repealing the medical device tax.

Franken said the tax burdens medical device startups and smaller businesses in Minnesota, where the industry is burgeoning. The tax was part of Obama's 2009 federal health care law.

Obama has been lukewarm to efforts to repeal the tax, citing the need for the estimated $30 billion in revenues. Franken says Congress can find a way to offset those revenues that the president will approve.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)