Courtney Votes Against GOP's Reckless FY12 Budget
Press Release
Congressman Joe Courtney today cast an emphatic vote against the Republican budget proposal for FY12, which would replace Medicare with a voucher program and reduce both student aid and critical infrastructure investment in Connecticut.
"The Republican budget fails every test of fairness and responsibility," said Congressman Courtney. "Not only would it end Medicare as we know it, but it places the entire burden for fiscal responsibility on the backs of students and seniors. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Republican plan would force seniors' Medicare costs to double or even triple, and a letter from 192 health economists and experts says GOP plans for Medicare "would undermine essential protections for millions of vulnerable people.'"
*Congressman Courtney spoke on the House floor earlier this week about the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it. Watch the video here.
The GOP Budget Resolution guts transportation investments in roads, bridges, rail lines, transit systems, and airports by $318 billion over the next 10 years. In Connecticut alone, more than $170 million in highway and infrastructure investment would be eliminated, which could cost the state 6,000 jobs.
The Republican plan also cuts college aid for nearly 10 million students nationwide, slashing the maximum Pell Grant award by more than $2,500 (45 percent) to the lowest level in more than a decade. In eastern Connecticut, 12,611 students who receive Pell grants for the 2011-2012 school year would see their aid slashed or eliminated under the GOP plan.
"It is vital that we continue to rein in long-term deficits and maintain the economic growth we have achieved over the past few months," continued Courtney. "In the end, any budget is about priorities, and in the Republican proposal, those priorities are plain as day. Tax breaks for oil companies are continued, benefits for companies that ship American jobs overseas are preserved, and taxes are once again cut for the wealthiest one percent. This plan is not about deficit reduction. It is about advancing an ideological goal to obliterate the common good, which I believe is the real key to America's exceptional place in the world ."
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