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Rep. Napolitano Condemns Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans in Republican Budget

April 7, 2011

(Washington D.C.)- Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano released the following statement against the cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, veterans, and other critical services included in the GOP budget unveiled by House Republicans on Wednesday:

“We are in a recession. What our economy needs is investments that create jobs and provide opportunities for the next generation. What this budget gives us is yet another set of burdens for families who are already struggling. We cannot enact a budget that shreds the safety net and sends more families and seniors into poverty.

“This budget would be disastrous for seniors, students, veterans, and people below the poverty line. It replaces Medicare with a voucher program that shifts health care costs to seniors. It also undermines Medicaid, which allows low-income seniors to stay in nursing homes and provides life-saving health care for our very poorest families. It slashes funding for Pell Grants, making it more difficult for millions of students to attend college. And it cuts support for homeless veterans, who have already made tremendous sacrifices for our country.

“At the same time, this budget includes permanent tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, cuts that would add one trillion dollars to the deficit. It keeps billions of dollars in subsidies in place for oil companies that are already among the most profitable in the world, and it protects corporate tax breaks for U.S. companies that move jobs overseas. It is unfair and unjust to ask the most vulnerable among us to make sacrifices while allowing the most prosperous to get a free ride.”

Issues:Economy