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Legislation & Politics | ||
Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution - HouseMarch 24, 2009 The Honorable John Spratt The Honorable Paul Ryan Dear Chairman Spratt and Representative Ryan: On behalf of the 1.6 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I urge you to craft a strong Congressional Budget Resolution that supports and builds upon President Obama's budget priorities. Chief among the President's priorities are a robust down payment for reforming our health care system and strong investments in domestic discretionary programs. President Obama and many in Congress have made a firm commitment to fix health care in 2009 to achieve a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for everyone in America. Reforming health care and pulling our economy out of recession are inextricably linked and must be approached in tandem. President Obama's budget proposal does just that by providing a down payment of $634 billion in a reserve fund to enact comprehensive health care reform. AFSCME urges you to support President Obama's proposal to limit deductions for the wealthiest and rein in subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans. The upfront investments we make now in health care reform will reap enormous savings over the next decade and beyond. It is therefore unnecessary and counterproductive to require spending and revenue offsets for the entire cost of health care reform within a ten year budget window. President Obama's budget blueprint also makes major investments in domestic discretionary programs, many of which were cut over the past several years. His budget proposal builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, providing the necessary resources for state and local governments to deliver vital services to our nation's children, elderly, and low- and moderate-income families. It renews federal support for education, child care, public health, job training, housing, clean energy and other domestic priorities, while restoring fairness to our tax system. AFSCME strongly urges you to support and build upon President Obama's priorities in developing your Budget Resolution. We have no time to lose. America's families continue to suffer from the failed economic policies of the past, and they need immediate federal action on comprehensive health care reform. Therefore, we urge that you maintain the option of using the reconciliation process if it becomes necessary to enact reform. At its core, the federal budget is a reflection of our nation's most vital priorities. The President's budget plan is a visionary blueprint that seeks to invest in our future by enabling health care reform to happen this year and by making needed investments in domestic priorities that will help our economy and the vast majority of Americans. AFSCME urges you to craft a Budget Resolution that reflects the President’s priorities, recognizing there is no time to waste. Sincerely, |
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