(Washington, D.C.) Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (AR-04) issued the
following statement Thursday concerning the House passage of the FY 2006
Budget Concurrent Resolution. Ross voted against the resolution.
“Today my Republican colleagues passed a budget that is flat-out fiscally
irresponsible and morally incomprehensible. Not only does this budget add
trillions of dollars to our national debt while failing to take into account
the cost of our continuing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it also
makes drastic cuts to programs so many of our hardworking families and
farm families depend on.
“It is morally incomprehensible because it breaks the promises made
to our farmers in the Farm Bill by reducing federal payments to crop and
dairy producers by $5.7 billion over the next decade. Invoking these cuts
right in the middle of the Farm Bill authorization process creates a dangerous
uncertainty for producers and bankers – especially those in rural communities.
“It is morally incomprehensible because it cuts $45 billion from Medicaid,
despite the fact that there are 45 million Americans today who lack access
to affordable health care. Millions of seniors, children, and disabled
Americans depend on the critical health care services Medicaid provides.
There is no doubt this cut in funding will have an especially harmful impact
on small states like Arkansas, where 717,000 of the state’s 2.7 million
citizens are Medicaid recipients.
“It is possible to pass a budget within a system of accountability.
Several weeks ago, I joined my fellow Members of the fiscally-conservative
Blue Dog Coalition and introduced a budget plan that would restore fiscal
sanity to our nation’s government. Our “12-Point Budget Plan” sets forth
sensible objectives such as supporting a constitutional amendment that
would require a balanced budget every year, establishing “paygo”
standards -- meaning any new spending must be paid for by cuts in
other programs or by new revenues -- and justifying spending for pet projects.
Our budget plan has received mounds of praise from many non-partisan watchdog
groups across the country, and I can only hope this publicity will eventually
have an impact on the way our majority party chooses to address our nation’s
budget needs.
“Considering some of the legislation my Republican colleagues have chosen
to pass and the negative impact their decisions have had on millions of
hardworking families, I am constantly amazed they can actually sleep at
night. This budget reduces support for housing, education, community development,
and small business lending -- programs that literally allow many of our
low and middle-income families to keep on going. And with all these cuts,
this budget still increases the deficit. It raises taxes on the poor.
And it does all this so the Republicans can afford new tax cuts for the
wealthiest among us.
“The Republican budget is morally unjustifiable. And as Congress
continues this debate, I will do everything in my power to restore fiscal
responsibilities for all of America’s hardworking families.” |