Patrick Leahy: “I also must express my opposition to the irresponsible domestic budget policy that has been forwarded by the majority…”

“I also must express my opposition to the irresponsible domestic budget policy that has been forwarded by the majority party. The Senate is being asked to approve spending and budget bills that make deep cuts to programs that serve some of our country's neediest citizens. A time of year typically signified by wishes of goodwill towards all, it is difficult to be anything but outraged by this attack on critical components of our social safety net. While many in the majority party have claimed that these bills are needed in order to reduce the deficit, with the knowledge that the leadership will make passing massive tax cuts benefiting some of the wealthiest among us a priority during the next session, this argument is simply disingenuous. Instead of putting the country on the road to fiscal security, these bills expose the agenda of the majority that blatantly undermines American families and make clear where the priorities of the majority party lie. It is not with the family that relies on Medicaid for their health insurance, the student who, without student aid, cannot afford to attend college, or the mother who needs childcare so that she can go to work and put food on the table for her family. Nor is it with the single mother who has been abandoned without child support, the grandparent raising their grandchild on a fixed income, or the worker who has lost his or her job and is trying to be retrained.…”