On the recordApril 9, 2014
I thank my distinguished friend for yielding. The GOP budget is a product of the same type of extreme philosophy that gave rise to the reckless Republican shutdown last year. It is like a heat-seeking missile aimed directly at the American people. It is a parade of horribles too numerous to catalogue, but in the time that I have allotted I will try to highlight the most egregious aspects. It will cut $125 billion from the SNAP program, making it difficult for millions of food insecure Americans to get access to the nutrition needed to live a healthy life. It will cut $260 billion from higher education spending, depriving young Americans of the opportunity to get a college education and robustly pursue the American dream. It will cut $732 billion from the Medicaid program, making it hard for older Americans to get access to this vital safety net program. It will turn Medicare into a voucher program--that is a Trojan horse--effectively ending Medicare as we know it. It will balance the budget on the backs of working families, middle class folks, senior citizens, the poor, the sick, and the afflicted. The Democratic plan is designed to create progress for the greatest number of Americans possible. The Republican plan is all about prosperity for the few, and for that reason we should vote it down.
