Congresswoman Corrine Brown Strongly Denounces House Republican Budget

Statement

Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:

"I have always said that budgets are intrinsically about values and priorities -- and it is clear from the Republican House budget what their priorities are: financing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans on the backs of our seniors, the poor and the disabled. In fact, their budget is nothing more than reverse Robin Hood: taking money from the poor and middle class to give huge tax breaks to the rich, while decimating Medicare by turning it into a voucher program, block granting Medicaid and cutting Social Security. In the last Congress, the Republicans took $115 Billion and handed it over to 6000 of the wealthiest Americans in the form of estate tax cuts, while at the same time they cut health care funding for needy children and their families.

While the Republican budget claims to put communities first, instead it prioritizes tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy over funding for the programs that many Americans rely on, such as Medicare and Medicaid, Pell grants, job training initiatives, and needed investments in transportation and infrastructure. With this budget, these programs, already significantly reduced in 2011, would face additional severe cuts that will push vulnerable communities into further economic distress.

The Democratic budget alternative, on the other hand, is a balanced approach to spending and revenue, and is a direct contrast to the Republican budget. Unlike the Republican budget, which relies on unspecified savings and severe cuts to domestic programs, the Democratic budget focuses on stabilizing deficits while enabling Congress to invest in growing our economy. And while the Republican budget cuts taxes for the wealthiest while putting the burden of deficit reduction on the middle class and the most vulnerable, the Democratic alternative employs a balanced approach to deficit reduction. And where their budget doubles the sequester cuts to non-defense programs, the Democratic alternative responsibly replaces it with a combination of new revenue and targeted spending cuts. While the Republican budget ends the Medicare guarantee by transforming it into a voucher program, the Democratic alternative preserves that guarantee for seniors who worked hard for years while paying into it.

I think it is obvious that the American people sent a clear message in rejecting these same ideas espoused by the Republican presidential candidates last November. It's time for House Republicans to set their extreme, partisan agenda aside and instead work to pass a budget that reflects the will of the people -- one that restores fiscal discipline in a sensible way and that invests in a strong economic future for all Americans."

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