On the recordSeptember 13, 2012
I rise today to talk about the so- called Ryan budget plan, endorsed and fully absorbed by Governor Romney--which, when you read it, is nothing more than a diabolical blueprint for slashing services that help families, seniors, and children all across the country. The Ryan-Romney plan--which is the centerpiece of the Republican Presidential campaign, and certainly will grow more so--has finally come under the new scrutiny that it needed as people got a good look at it leading up to the GOP convention last month. I, for one, have been ashamed of this document for much longer. I was proud the Senate voted against it, although it was equally discouraging that a majority of the House voted for it. I am here today because I want to set the record straight on what, in my judgment, the Ryan-Romney plan would do to people in my home State of West Virginia, to the Presiding Officer's home State, and to the country. The Ryan budget proposal tackles the deficit by shredding something called the safety net. If people aren't clear what that is, it is the net of public policy underneath the worst possible situation that somebody can come to in terms of health care or inability to live. Families have counted on that safety net for years in rough times, because they have had that safety net and they have used that safety net.…
