Van Hollen Statement on GOP Budget

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, released the following statement about the House Republican budget:

"Today the House Republicans released a totally uncompromising budget that simply represents more of the same -- undermining job growth, ending the Medicare guarantee, and slashing critical investments in our future while protecting tax breaks for special interests and the very wealthy. And it's made worse by picking an arbitrary political date to come into balance at the expense of over 750,000 jobs this year alone and weakening the fragile economic recovery.

"The question is not whether we should reduce the deficit, but how. Democrats have consistently fought for a balanced approach. We must put Americans back to work in the short-term, while also working to put in place a long-term plan to get our fiscal house in order. But the House Republican budget is totally lopsided. They claim they are "reigniting the American Dream' -- but only for those who have already succeeded, while smothering it for everyone else. For the vast majority of working Americans, it only makes it harder to make ends meet.

"To govern is to choose, and the Republican budget is the wrong choice for our country. The GOP is dead set on balancing the budget on the backs of working families, seniors, and kids' education -- but the American people were given a clear choice during the last election cycle and they rejected that approach. Instead of more of the same, we must work together to create jobs rather than cut them, to grow the economy rather than stifle growth, and to find a balanced path forward that protects the promise and opportunity of a better life for all Americans."

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