Chris Van Hollen: “we are here today because of a few minor changes the Senate made to this legislation after it passed the House last…”

“we are here today because of a few minor changes the Senate made to this legislation after it passed the House last year. Those changes did not alter the defective nature of the underlying bill--or my fundamental opposition to it. From the single largest cut to student aid in the forty year history of the Higher Education Act to new burdens placed on poor people and children served by Medicaid, this reconciliation package targets those with the least in order to pay--or I should really say, partially pay-- for tax cuts that flow disproportionately to those with the most. That's right: When this $39 billion in spending cuts is paired with the $122 billion in tax cuts the House has already approved, the Deficit Reduction Act actually increases the deficit by over $80 billion. Furthermore, as recent press reports have highlighted, it didn't have to be this way. When it comes to restraining government spending, there are plenty of other choices we could have made--like eliminating $22 billion in overpayments to Medicare HMOs or terminating the $10 billion Medicare PPO slush fund or restoring $9.6 billion in drug company rebates to the Medicaid program. All of these provisions were stripped out of this conference report behind closed doors in the middle of the night. The Republican leadership here in Congress has allowed special interest lobbyists to drive the legislative process. As a result, the powerful win--and the people we are supposed to serve lose.…”