Tom Udall: “last week the Senate Budget Committee gave a green light to the Republican budget. A caution light, a yellow light, was…”

“last week the Senate Budget Committee gave a green light to the Republican budget. A caution light, a yellow light, was more in order. It calls for $4.7 trillion in nondefense spending cuts over the next 10 years and no increases in revenue. Where would those cuts come from? They would be piled on the backs of the middle class, the elderly, and children. They would cut the earned-income tax credit, slash Medicare and Medicaid, child care, Head Start, education, public safety, and law enforcement. And--just for good measure--the Republican budget rolls back reforms on Wall Street--and on and on. All this and more is to pay for lower taxes for millionaires and billionaires. When I first came to the Senate, our economy was in a free fall. We were losing 20,000 jobs a day, every day. Thousands of jobs were gone. Our financial system was crashing. Deficits were at historic highs. That was 6 years ago. It has been a long road back. We asked the wealthy to pay their fair share. We passed long-needed reforms to Wall Street. We have seen 12 million more private sector jobs, the deficit cut in half, and Wall Street at historic highs. Profits are up; unemployment and deficits are down. That is the story, but it isn't over. We are not done yet. Not everyone has found solid ground. My State still faces great challenges. Many New Mexicans are still struggling, still pulling out of the worst recession in 75 years. How do we go forward?…”