Chris Van Hollen: “My friend and colleague from Georgia mentioned tough choices. It is interesting that the Republican budget chooses not…”

“My friend and colleague from Georgia mentioned tough choices. It is interesting that the Republican budget chooses not to cut one corporate tax break for the purpose of reducing the deficit. Apparently, that is too touch of a choice for our Republican colleagues--not to close the corporate tax break, not to cut the tax break that benefits hedge fund managers. They don't cut a single one of those tax breaks to help reduce our deficit, but they do want to increase the premiums on seniors who choose to stay in the traditional Medicare Program. They may call it a choice, but for most Americans, if I say your premium is going to go up 50 percent, yeah, you can choose to have your premium go up, or you can go somewhere else. That is not a heck of a real choice for most seniors who are struggling financially. Sure, it is a pay-to-stay plan, but you have got to pay a lot more in premiums, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It is not according to me; this is according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Democratic budget does make the decision to close some of those special interest tax breaks to help reduce the long-term deficit, so we don't have to increase the costs and risks to seniors on Medicare, so we don't have to increase the cost on student loans and start charging students interest while they are still in college. No, we don't do that. {time} 1430 They are right.…”