On the recordMarch 25, 2015
I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, let me just emphasize a couple of specifics in the Republican budget that is before us. We haven't talked a lot about seniors in nursing homes. You know, two-thirds of Medicaid goes to help seniors and disabled individuals in nursing homes, and yet the Republican budget cuts $900 billion from Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office says one of two things will happen: either States will increase taxes back home or seniors will get less care. The Republican budget provides less for our veterans this year than the President's budget, less by $1.9 billion, $19 billion less for the Veterans Administration over the next 10 years compared to the President's budget. At the same time, their budget plays games with defense spending. That is why we have so-called Price 1 and Price 2. Neither Price is right here. They both play games with our defense spending by using our defense overseas contingency account as a slush fund, something the Republican-led Committee on the Budget said last year they would not do. In fact, they said it was a backdoor loophole that undermines the integrity of the budget process. This is the committee report. This is the Republican-drafted committee report when Mr. Ryan was chairman of the committee 1 year ago. Tear it up. Just as they said what they are doing would violate the integrity of the budget process, it does. That is exactly what it does. It plays games with our defense spending.…
