Doris Matsui: “this is the third time the House has voted on this budget package and there is good reason this legislation is having…”

“this is the third time the House has voted on this budget package and there is good reason this legislation is having such a difficult time receiving final approval from Congress. While we all agree that this Nation cannot continue to spend beyond its means at the expense of future generations, this budget package will do nothing to right our precarious fiscal situation. If you take even a cursory glance at this legislation, it is readily apparent that the Republican method of deficit reduction is to disproportionately pass the burden on to hard-working Americans and the poorest among us. It ignores the idea of shared sacrifice the American people expect and deserve. My constituents in Sacramento are outraged--I have received hundreds of phone calls and I have stacks of letters; they are astounded that this bill would cut funding for Medicaid, student loans and child support enforcement in order to finance up to $70 billion in tax cuts. Clearly, they have good reason to be outraged. In fact, I completely agree with them. For instance, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the budget package will cut Medicaid funding by $28 billion over the next decade and impose new co-payments on participants. The result will be that 65,000 individuals will stop participating in Medicaid over the next decade, 60 percent of whom will be children.…”