OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Statement from Congressman Bernie Sanders on the Budget Submitted by President Bush

Date: Feb. 9, 2006
Issues: Senior Citizens Unemployed and Low-Income Entitlements and the Safety Net Health Insurance Higher Education K-12 Education Health and Health Care Government Budget and Spending


Statement from Congressman Bernie Sanders on the Budget Submitted by President Bush

02/09/06

"The proposed budget released by President Bush this week is extremely unfair in that it cuts critical programs that benefit middle and lower-income Americans, only to turn around and give even more tax cuts to the wealthy. In the midst of a major health care crisis, President Bush's budget slashes Medicare by $36 billion and Medicaid by more than $13 billion over the next five years and increases Medicare premiums for some seniors. At a time when the cost of college education is soaring, this draconian budget hits lower and middle-income families hard by freezing Pell Grants for the fifth year in a row and leaving our educational system underfunded by a staggering $55 billion since the enactment of the Administration's No Child Left Behind program.

"Under this budget, the Administration also continues to shortchange our veterans. For the fourth year in a row, the budget raises health care costs for hundreds of thousands of veterans, including new co-payments on prescription drugs and enrollment fees, and increases TRICARE health care premiums for military retirees. These changes will cost our nations veterans hundreds of millions of dollars and drive more than 234,000 veterans out of the veterans' health care system

"Despite these misguided and draconian cuts, this budget does nothing to rein in our nation's record-breaking deficit. In fact, President Bush's budget will create trillions of dollars in new deficits over the next 10 years—heaping mountains of debt onto our children and our grandchildren. We cannot continue to follow the disastrous and misguided priorities of an Administration that is all to willing too sacrifice the needs of the American people to benefit their wealthy campaign contributors. In the coming months I will do everything I can to prevent these draconian cuts and irresponsible tax breaks and work towards a budget that puts the needs of working Americans first."

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/document.asp?issueNum=4780

arrow_upward