AFSCME Pres. Lee Saunders today warned of “real harm to our communities” after the House of Representatives approved a budget plan with the goal of funding tax cuts for the rich at the expense of middle-class families.
“Any member of Congress who voted to support this budget just signed a permission slip for an onslaught of attacks on America's seniors, children and working families,” Saunders said.
Among other things, the budget proposal, which has now been approved by both houses of Congress, would:
- Cut Medicare by more than $470 billion;
- Cut Medicaid by $1 trillion;
- Cut $5 trillion over the next decade from programs in health care, education, child care, affordable housing, nutrition assistance, transportation and more;
- Increase military spending by $91 billion in fiscal year 2018 alone;
- Increase the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, potentially leading to cuts to Social Security in the future.
All this to pave the way for tax cuts for the rich and for corporations. The measure also will allow Congress to go around normal rules and overhaul the tax code and the health care system without needing bipartisan support.
“It is unconscionable to give a penny more to the billionaires and corporations who have rigged the rules to their own benefit at the expense of already underfunded health care, education, infrastructure and other public services,” Saunders said.