During Friday’s Democratic Weekly Address, House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) stated that President Trump’s budget makes it clear that “Trump and his Republican allies in Congress don’t care about you and your family.”
Transcript as Follows:
“Hi, I’m John Yarmuth, Chairman of the House Budget Committee and Congressman for Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District.
Last week, President Trump released his budget for Fiscal Year 2021. It presented a patchwork of broken promises, destructive cuts and irrational policies that not only ignore basic facts, but target working families and vulnerable Americans. Congress already has a budget in place for this year and the next, and we will stick to it. Just six short months ago, the President signed this bipartisan two-year budget deal into law.
But now, the President is going back on his word. In contrast to this agreement, he is proposing deep cuts to critical programs that help American families and prepare our nation for the future. Once again, he is breaking his promises and lying to the American people.
Less than a week after the President promised that Medicare and Social Security would not be touched, his budget cut Medicare funding by a half a trillion dollars and Social Security benefits by at least $24 billion. He promised he would never cut Medicaid, but his budget slashes the program by $900 billion.
The Trump budget threatens the health care of seniors with long-term care needs, reduces funding to rural health clinics already at risk of closing, abandons people seeking treatment for opioid addiction and cuts health services for hard-working families across America.
And at a time when the world is fighting the Coronavirus pandemic, President Trump wants to cut funding for the Centers for Disease Control by nearly $700 million.
This is a complete abandonment of responsibility for the health and well-being of our constituents. And unfortunately, it is not the only dereliction of duty included in the President’s budget.
The President would cut the Department of Education by $5.6 billion, disinvesting in our students and limiting their opportunities. He proposes a $170 billion cut to student loan programs, while making it harder for new students to secure this support and more difficult for graduates to repay their loans after they enter the workforce.
Whether your priority is making sure that all families can put food on their table, that the air we breathe is safe and the water we drink is clean, that we respond to climate change, that we invest in our economic future, that we take care of our veterans and their families or all of the above, with this budget, the President willfully and intentionally ignores you and your concerns.
The bottom line here is that President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress don’t care about you and your family. I know it’s harsh, but this budget makes that absolutely clear. When you propose another round of tax cuts for the very wealthy, while sacrificing the health, safety and economic security of American families, you’re not the President of the people, you’re the President for the powerful – and that’s a disgrace.
The America President Trump envisions with his budget is not the America our Founders set out to create. We are a nation of opportunity, where everyone who puts in the effort should have a chance to achieve the American dream. Democrats will continue to fight to help working families, protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and expand economic opportunity for all.
We’re working For The People: lower health costs and prescription drug prices, bigger paychecks by rebuilding the infrastructure of America and cleaner government to make Washington work for you.
Together we will stand firm against the President’s irrational and dangerous vision for our nation’s future.
Thank you.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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