OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act of 2012

Floor Speech

Date: May 15, 2012
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Entitlements and the Safety Net Taxes Government Budget and Spending

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, once again, the Republican majority is proposing legislation that puts Americans directly on the Road to Austerity. Similar to the Ryan Budget, the Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act is noteworthy for the harsh austerity it demands of the many and the lavish benefits it extends to the few.

Instead of closing tax loopholes or asking millionaires to contribute to deficit reduction, this bill focuses only on cutting spending while hurting millions of Americans.

This bill puts the burden of deficit reduction squarely on the backs of seniors, the middle class, and the most vulnerable among us:

It slashes food stamps by $33.2 billion at a time when families can least afford it; permanently eliminates the Social Services Block Grant program which provides assistance for nearly 23 million Americans including 4.4 million children and 1.7 million older Americans who receive ``Meals on Wheels''; cuts investments to women's health by eliminating the Prevention and Public Health Fund which promotes maternal and child health; and politicizes the funding process for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which was created by the Dodd-Frank law to deal with banks that are ``too big to fail.''

Mr. Speaker, Democrats agree that we need deficit reduction, but demand that we do it in a balanced and fair way. The proposal before us shreds the social safety net that protects millions of hardworking families in an effort to protect defense cuts under sequestration and makes billions of dollars in cuts beyond what was agreed to under the Budget Control Act for FY13.

This bill is another example of a partisan bill that has no chance of going anywhere but that sends a message to all Americans: You are on your own. From Medicare to child protective services, to respite care for disabled individuals, the Republican majority is cutting your services while handing a neatly wrapped gift to our Nation's millionaires.

I strongly urge a ``no'' vote.


Source
arrow_upward