Kildee: GOP Budget Is Slap in the Face to Middle Class, Seniors

 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Dale E. Kildee released the following statement in response to the GOP budget for FY12. This dangerous proposal would privatize Medicare, gut Medicaid and education funding and make tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent, among a host of other cuts and tax breaks that would be devastating for the middle class, seniors and the poor.

“I have always been a proponent of fiscal responsibility, but the cuts proposed by Congressional Republicans are simply outrageous and are an affront to human decency. This proposed budget would tear the American safety net at the seams, severely harming America’s poor, middle class and elderly while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

This proposal would cut all funding for the healthcare reform law, bringing America back to the days when insurance companies could deny coverage due to preexisting conditions and drop individuals when they became ill. It would privatize Medicare, leaving seniors at the mercy of the private insurance industry and cut funding to Medicaid, leaving our most disadvantaged without access to care. And this proposal would cut funding for education, hurting our children’s chances to succeed and our country’s overall competitiveness in the global economy. To add insult to injury, this proposal would give tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, hand out subsidies to big oil companies and lower taxes for the wealthiest Americans by 10 percent. 

This proposal cannot stand. In my 34 years in Congress, I have never seen such a vicious attack on America’s most vulnerable groups and I will do everything in my power to fight this dangerous and heartless proposal,” said Congressman Kildee.