WASHINGTON—House Budget Committee Democrats went 0-for-32 in trying to halt the Republican majority’s budget blueprint steamroller, which includes cuts in Medicare, Social Security and education —all to pay for their top addition: A further tax cut for corporations and the rich.
“This plan prioritizes a $4.5 trillion giveaway for billionaire donors over the needs of hardworking Americans, stealing taxpayer dollars away from the middle class to benefit the ultra-wealthy,” said the top committee Democrat, Rep. Brendan Boyle of Philadelphia.
The marathon February 12 session sent the budget resolution to the House floor, but its fate is uncertain. Holding a very slim overall majority, the huge right-wing Trumpite chorus in the House Republican Caucus is vulnerable to defections from the remaining handful of upset moderates.
All the House Democrats are expected to oppose the GOP blueprint. But one—Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas–defected as recently as the day of the budget panel’s vote. Cuellar was the lone Democrat to support a GOP-passed measure to let lawmakers run roughshod by repealing all federal rules, including those to cut prescription drug costs and cap credit card fees, in one giant omnibus bill.
AFSCME spoke out strongly against the GOP budget blueprint, concentrating its fire on Elon Musk, the mega-billionaire who’s Republican President Donald Trump’s puppeteer, and whom Trump has given carte blanche to rampage through the federal government. The Service Employees denounced the Medicaid cuts. The National Consumers League blasted the whole measure.
“The resolution calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions and $4.5 trillion in tax cuts,” the Consumers League said. It “would eliminate core manufacturing and clean energy policies established in the Inflation Reduction Act and severely weaken Medicaid, which provides health insurance for nearly 72 million Americans.
“So much for America first,” Sally Greenberg, NCL’s CEO, said sarcastically. “The House Republican budget resolution puts everyday Americans last and corporate interests first. No matter where you live—in a red state or blue state—this budget will hurt consumers. The proposed draconian cuts to Medicaid could deprive millions of hardworking Americans of access to affordable, quality healthcare.
“Eliminating vital manufacturing and clean energy policies will harm our nation’s competitiveness, workforce, environment, and health. All of this for the sake of tax breaks for ultra-wealthy corporations that merely pocket the taxes and ship jobs overseas anyway. This is bad for consumers and bad for America.”
Musk and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, are “teaming up to go after Social Security” and that “should enrage and concern every single American who has contributed to Social Security,” Richard Fiesta, executive director of the labor-backed Alliance for Retired Americans said after the GOP won complete congressional control last year. Lee has proposed ending Social Security—and every other federal program—unless Congress renews it every five years.
“Social Security is a solemn promise between the American people and the government. We pay for Social Security’s guaranteed benefits with every paycheck and expect them to be there when we retire, lose a spouse or parent, or become disabled.
“No one voted to phase-out Social Security or let Wall Street gamble with their earned benefits. Older Americans will rightly punish any politician who tries to cut their benefits or gut the system that has worked for generations.”
Musk gets $8 million per day
“Elon Musk receives $8 million PER DAY (their emphasis) from the federal government, and is getting more federal contracts. Meanwhile, he’s planning to cut our hard-earned Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare benefits. We won’t stand for any cuts,” AFSCME tweeted.
The Republican budget blueprint “will slash funding for Medicaid, food assistance and other vital services to fund tax breaks for the wealthy,” SEIU said. “It’s a cruel reminder of where our country is under this new administration.
“Working people of every background, occupation and political affiliation have been urging our leaders to stand up for them and 80 million children, pregnant moms, veterans, and grandparents at risk of having their Medicaid ripped away. Instead of listening, Republicans are putting billionaire desires ahead of the needs of their constituents.
“Make no mistake: Radical changes to Medicaid will hurt us all. Cutting Medicaid will shrink funding for other vital services and infrastructure families depend on, from child care to Meals On Wheels, while putting increased pressure on service providers by decreasing resources that are already insufficient. These extreme proposals do nothing to lower the cost of groceries, utility bills, prescriptions, housing or anything else to help working people.
“SEIU members and our communities are not fooled by this attempt to rewrite and extend the President’s 2017 tax cuts. We continue to call on House Republicans to go back to the drawing board and create a budget that will protect the health and well-being of those who need it most. We’re also watching to see who will stand with working people during this process.”
The Republicans certainly didn’t. Among the Democratic amendments they rejected in the House Budget Committee, all on party-line votes were:
- Two amendments to reject the cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security—among others—and junk the GOP tax cut plan. The GOP also bounced a separate ban on cutting only Medicaid to pay for the tax cuts.
- An amendment by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., to force the wealthiest Americans—Musk included—to pay their fair share of federal taxes. Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minn., wanted to force corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, too. She lost.
- A try by Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, to undo the budget plan’s decision to junk Biden-era rollbacks of prescription drug prices.
- Becca Balint, D-Vt., tried to fence off the Affordable Care Act from GOP cuts. She lost. The budget blueprint calls for slashing a program that helps people find affordable care by 90%, from $100 million to $10 million.
- Several lawmakers tried to protect Medicare and Social Security from GOP cuts. All lost.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, the most-senior female House member tried to “to safeguard sensitive taxpayer information and private data from unlawful access by unauthorized people.” In other words, Elon Musk. She lost, too.
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