Washington DC – In reaction to the recently released House Republican budget proposal, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement:                                                                                                 

“Just as the American economy set another record in February with 60-straight months of private-sector job growth, House Republicans have proposed a budget that would march us backward by making draconian cuts to the very investments and programs that have lifted our economy out of the Great Recession and helped millions of people get back to work.  Those Republican cuts will cost jobs and that’s something our country can’t afford right now.

“We’ve seen this movie before.  The new Republican budget looks a lot like previous ones, and unsurprisingly, the sequel is even worse.  It would harm the middle class and slow the recovery.  The GOP blueprint provides tax breaks to wealthy people who don’t need them while slashing programs that middle-class families count on.  If Republicans have their way, more than 16 million people would lose their health care coverage and Medicare as we know it would no longer exist.

“Instead of reversing our progress, we need a budget that builds on the 12 million private-sector jobs created in the last five years by working to expand the middle class, raise incomes and improve our communities, which is what President Obama has proposed and is what the Congress should be working on.

Background:

The Republican budget proposal would make $5.5 trillion in spending cuts, including

 

• End Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program:
• Repeal the Affordable Care Act – stripping over 16 million people of their health care insurance
• Block grant Medicaid, cutting resources for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by more than $900 billion
• Cut 35,000 children from Head Start
• Cut $1.2 billion in Title I education funding, which will lead to bigger class sizes and fewer teachers
• Cut four million workers out of job training and employment services programs
• Cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by $140 billion
• Cut affordable housing vouchers for 133,000 families

Entirely missing from the Republican budget are proposals needed to address problems left over from the Great Recession:

• Major Investments in our crumbling infrastructure
• Low-cost proposals to promote a more family friendly workplace – like family leave
• Raising the minimum wage
• More help with the rising cost of higher education

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