Pete Stark: “it appears the third time's the charm for the Republican leadership. Unfortunately, the same is not true for working…”

“it appears the third time's the charm for the Republican leadership. Unfortunately, the same is not true for working Americans who will be worse off under yet another morally reprehensible Republican budget. This budget insults students, attacks veterans, and bankrupts future generations. A budget is a statement about priorities. For the party of Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff, that means rewarding corporate contributors at the expense of ordinary Americans. Republicans protected billions of dollars in giveaways to an oil industry awash in profits. But despite President Bush's State of the Union rhetoric, this budget underfunded investments in alternative energy that are necessary to prevent global warming. What else do the Republicans believe is less important than additional billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy? Education, health care, and the financial well being of our children and grandchildren. Despite record enrollment from pre-K to college, Republicans support large cuts to education. This budget cuts Department of Education funding by $2.2 billion--and provides $15.4 billion less than Republicans promised when they passed No Child Left Behind. Even though college costs have risen 40 percent since 2001, the Republican budget again freezes the maximum Pell Grant and denies more than 460,000 students low-cost higher education loans.…”