Pocan Opposes GOP Budget That Hurts Wisconsin Families

Statement

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget, voted against the GOP budget proposal introduced by committee chairman Paul Ryan (WI-01). The budget passed on a party line vote and will now go to the full House for consideration.

"I am disappointed, but not surprised, that partisan politics prevailed and the Budget Committee passed a proposal that has no chance of ever becoming law," Pocan said. "This is a budget based on math gimmicks and absurd assumptions--trying to keep the savings from the Affordable Care Act while repealing its benefits has as much credibility as trying to increase revenue by hiring leprechauns to grab the pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Instead of focusing on areas where Democrats and Republicans could come together to grow our economy and responsibly reduce our deficit, we voted on these type of recycled and unrealistic policies that would cost our country two million jobs just next year.

"This budget is simply a bad deal for Wisconsin families. It keeps the sequester cuts in place, meaning 36,000 Wisconsinites will lose their jobs. It will turn Medicare into a voucher program, forcing 873,753 Wisconsin seniors out of traditional Medicare. And it will increase tax breaks for the very wealthy and big business at the cost of $2,000 a year to our middle class families.

"We must remember that the biggest threat to our long term economic security at this time is not the deficit, but our economy and jobs. We need to be making investments in the American worker and in American ingenuity--in education, research & development, job training, and infrastructure--that will get the people of our great state back to work. I am hopeful that as the budget process continues, we can turn our attention forward to job growth, and not backward to rejected policies of the past."

Just yesterday, the Economic Policy Institute found that the GOP budget would result in 2 million fewer American jobs next year alone, decrease GDP by 1.7 percent, and stall our nation's economic recovery.

Source