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Velazquez on GOP Budget Proposal

March 29, 2012

Velázquez on GOP Budget Proposal


Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) spoke on the House floor in opposition to House Republicans’ budget proposal:

“I rise in opposition to this budget, which will slash the safety net our seniors and working families count on in order to steer tax cuts to the super wealthy. As New Yorkers struggle with rising rent, food and health care costs, now is not the time to squeeze working families in order to provide tax giveaways to the most fortunate among us.

“This budget would mean deep cuts to the Supplement Nutritional Assistance Program, which provides food assistance to 1.8 million New Yorkers. For students, looking to secure an education, this budget would mean drastic cuts to higher education funding, meaning higher costs for students. New York’s small businesses would see federal programs they rely on for access to credit and technical assistance reduced by $80 million – exactly the wrong direction to go as we seek to hasten our economic recovery.

“Nowhere does this budget fail our nation more than in the area of health care. Medicaid would be slashed by $810 billion, meaning disabled people, the working poor and low income children would lose out.

“For our seniors, who have worked hard their entire lives, this budget would mean turning our back on the Medicare guarantee for the first time, pushing the 74,000 Medicare recipients in New York’s 12th district into an untested, unreliable voucher system. Let’s be clear – if you vote for this budget you are voting to end Medicare as we know it.

“This budget repeatedly chooses millionaires and billionaires over working families. Those are not American values, they are not New York values and we should reject them. Vote no. I yield back.”

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