April 14, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid released the following statement on tomorrow’s House vote on the Republican budget:
 
“The vote you’ll cast tomorrow presents a clear choice between millionaires and the middle class.  Whose side are you on?

“It will also answer for the country this question: Are Republicans serious about reducing the deficit, or are they going to continue pretending we can do it without asking millionaires, billionaires and corporations to pay their fair share?

“Our federal budget is like any family’s budget in that there are two columns: what we take in and what we spend. We can’t have a serious conversation about balancing the budget until Republicans stop pretending that the ledger has only one side.”

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CBO: Voucher Proposal Will Double Health Care Costs for Seniors. The voucher will fail to keep pace with increases in the cost of health care.  As a result, seniors will be forced to pay higher premiums in order to access the same benefits they would receive under the current system.  According to the CBO, a typical senior will spend more than twice as much of his or her own income on health services under the Ryan proposal as compared to the current Medicare system. [CBO, 4/5/11]

Under GOP Budget, It Will Take 33 Seniors Paying Double the Cost for Health Care to Pay for Just One Multi-Millionaire’s Tax Break. The average senior will pay more than $6,000 more for their health care under the House Republican plan than under traditional Medicare. That thirty-three seniors will be forced to pay double the cost for their health care in order to pay for one multi-millionaire’s $200,000 tax break.  [CBPP, 4/7/11; White House, 4/13/11]

CBO: House Republican Budget Could Force State Tax Hikes. According to CBO, “Because of the magnitude of the reduction in federal Medicaid spending under the proposal, however, states would face significant challenges in achieving sufficient cost savings through efficiencies to mitigate the loss of federal funding. To maintain current service levels in the Medicaid program, states would probably need to consider additional changes, such as reducing their spending on other programs or raising additional revenues.” [CBO, 4/5/11]