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Congressman Doyle Condemns
Republican Budget
Bills for Misguided Priorities
Washington, D.C. - November 17, 2005 – U.S.
Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) today voted against a bill containing
nearly $50 billion in cuts in federal programs like Medicaid, student loans,
foster care, and child support enforcement.
“This bill makes $50 billion in cuts in programs that help the most vulnerable people in this country at the same time as the House prepares to cut $57 billion in taxes,” Congressman Doyle said today after the vote. “I find that irresponsible, inexcusable, and unsupportable – and I voted against it.”
Early this morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4241, legislation that would cut $50 billion over 5 years from federal entitlement programs like Medicaid, student loans, and foster care by a vote of 217 to 215.
H.R. 4241 would make $11.4 billion in Medicaid, the federal health care program for poor children, the disabled, and low-income elderly. The bill would also make $14.3 billion in cuts in the federal student loan program, increasing student loan costs for the average student borrower by $5,800. It would also cut child support enforcement by $4.9 billion, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would reduce child support payments from deadbeat dads by more than $24 billion.
Congressman Doyle voted against the bill, citing his concerns about fiscal responsibility and the impact that the bill would have on the poor.
“The Republican House Leadership has named this bill the ‘Deficit Reduction Act of 2005,'” Doyle observed after the vote. “But the Republican budget will actually increase the deficit by $50 billion. That's about as Orwellian as it gets. If they wanted to be honest about what they're doing, they should call it the “No Child Gets a Dime, No Millionaire Left Behind” budget.”
The Senate is expected to approve its version of this legislation in the near future, and then the differences between the two bills must be resolved. Once a final compromise version is reached, it must be approved again by both the House and Senate before it can be enacted into law.
“I will continue to work to oppose these irresponsible, inequitable, budget bills and work for a more equitable, compassionate, and fiscally responsible federal budget,” Congressman Doyle said.
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