04.20.15

Sanders: Republican Budgets Would be ‘Total Disaster’ for Working Americans

WASHINGTON, April 20 – As the Senate Budget Committee conference meets for the first time today, Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the House and Senate budget resolutions a “total disaster” for the working families of our country.

Sanders said: “Both the Senate and the House budget resolutions would make the rich richer and cause devastating pain to tens of millions of working families throughout the country.  Instead of making health care more affordable, both Republican budgets would eliminate health insurance for at least 27 million Americans.  At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, both Republican budgets would provide huge tax breaks for the top one-tenth of 1 percent, while paving the way for a tax hike on 13 million working families.”

Sanders, who led the fight in the Senate against the Republican budget, said he would continue fighting during the conference negotiations to undo the worst parts of the plan: “Both of these budgets represent a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthiest people in this country.  The Republican philosophy of cutting Medicare, cutting Medicaid, and cutting nutrition programs for hungry kids, while providing huge tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, would move this country in exactly the wrong direction.”

Also yesterday, Sanders released a new report demonstrating that this year’s Republican budget will be the worst for the elderly, the sick, and the most vulnerable in at least a decade.

Among the findings of the Sanders report:

  • The Republican Senate budget would result in the largest percentage cut to the Medicare program of any budget resolution in well over a decade, while the House version seeks to end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program.
  • The Republican Senate budget would cut more from income security programs – such as nutrition, child care, military retirement benefits, affordable housing, home heating assistance and unemployment benefits by more than any budget resolution in at least a decade.
  • Of the projected deficit reduction over the next 10 years and dating back to 2010, $4.4 trillion has been due to legislative changes, which are primarily the result of spending cuts.

The full report can be found HERE.