Top Reasons to Oppose the Republican Budget

Oct 2, 2017

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Makes astonishing cuts to federal spending ― It assumes $5.4 trillion in spending cuts that threaten top priorities like education, infrastructure, research, veteran benefits, and programs that expand opportunities for American families.

Gives massive tax cuts to millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations, while putting the burden onto the middle class ― It gives massive tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, while shifting the tax burden onto the middle class. It protects special-interest loopholes, but does nothing to make sure wealthy corporations pay their fair share.

Fast-tracks harmful cuts to programs millions of Americans count on ― The budget includes fast-track reconciliation procedures to push through cuts in mandatory spending programs totaling $203 billion across 11 House committees. These cuts are likely to fall heavily on low-income families, students struggling to afford college, seniors, and persons with disabilities.

Immediately guts investment critical to expanding economic opportunity ― It fails to address the looming cuts to non-defense investments, lowering the already inadequate austerity-level spending caps by an additional $5 billion in 2018 and by even more in subsequent years. These cuts undermine our country’s investments and the ability of American families to get ahead.

Undermines health care ― It embraces Trumpcare, but would cause even more damage. Trumpcare would raise costs for older and low-income adults, add more than 20 million Americans to the uninsured, and cut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Trumpcare’s $1 trillion of Medicaid cuts jeopardize care for seniors in nursing homes, children, and struggling families. This budget goes even further by cutting at least $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and Medicare.

Ends the Medicare guarantee and makes other cuts to Medicare ― It calls for replacing Medicare’s guaranteed benefits for future retirees with fixed payments for the purchase of health insurance, shifting costs and financial risks onto seniors and disabled workers. In total, the budget cuts Medicare by nearly $500 billion over ten years.

Focuses too narrowly on the military, shortchanging essential elements of national security ― While increasing defense spending by $72 billion above the cap – $18 billion more than President Trump requested – the budget recklessly cuts funding for the State Department and foreign aid agencies by more than $11 billion and environmental and natural resource protection by more than $6 billion.