John Chandler: “I appreciate all that the gentleman from Arkansas is doing to bring these issues to the forefront, to the American…”

“I appreciate all that the gentleman from Arkansas is doing to bring these issues to the forefront, to the American people, because I believe they are extremely important and I know all Members of the Blue Dog Coalition believe that accountability and responsibility to the people of our Nation is of the utmost importance. Mr. Speaker, the President sent a $2.9 trillion budget to Congress yesterday. That is quite a lot of money. And you would think that among those trillions of hard-earned tax dollars the President would find resources for the most essential services like education for our kids and health care for our veterans. But, once again, those who need our help the most are the very people who have been pushed aside. If we follow this budget, Medicaid and Medicare will be cut by $101 billion over the next 5 years; health care for our veterans will be slashed by $3.5 billion over 5 years; Perkins loan funds for our college students will be recalled; and No Child Left Behind will be underfunded by some $15 billion. The President, in addition, would have us cut State preparedness training programs and firefighter and law enforcement grants, depriving our first responders of the funds necessary to operate in this post-9/11 world. These policies make no sense. They rob our children of opportunity, make our communities less safe, and dishonor those who have sacrificed while wearing our Nation's uniform.”