Pallone Statement on President's 2009 Budget

Statement

PALLONE STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT'S 2009 BUDGET

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, issued the following statement today on President Bush's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget.

"It is shocking that at a time when Americans are consistently ranking health care as one of their top concerns, President Bush proposes a budget that would worsen our nation's health care problems rather than solve them. This budget proposal shows President Bush is clearly out of touch with the priorities and needs of the American people.

"The president would cut over $200 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years. The cuts come in the form of reduced payments to hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income and uninsured patients, reduced subsidies to help low-income seniors pay for their premiums, and freezes or reductions in provider payments. These are cruel cuts that would disproportionately affect seniors, the disabled and low-income children, and therefore should be rejected by Congress.

"While I am glad to see the president has requested more money for the FDA to increase its food and import safety functions, he has clearly dropped the ball with respect to other agencies charged with protecting the public health.

"Under the president's budget, funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be frozen at this year's level and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would have its funding cut by $433 million. At a time when promising advances are being made to find cures for life-threatening diseases, we should not be freezing or cutting funding for the very research that makes such advances possible. This is another harmful proposal that Congress should reject.

"The president also touts a 'robust' Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization proposal. Who is he trying to fool? Under his plan, states would have fewer dollars to cover fewer children than under the bipartisan legislation that was overwhelmingly passed by Congress, but vetoed by the president. If the president is serious about creating a robust CHIP program, he would reconsider his veto and support our efforts to ensure 10 million children have access to health coverage.

"President Bush also refuses to once again fund beach replenishment projects critical to the Jersey Shore. This shortsighted assault has been rejected by Congress in the past, and I hope to secure funding for projects in Monmouth County. However, the president's policy makes it more difficult every year to secure the necessary funds to proceed with these projects."

Source