Rahall: Democrats' Budget Invests in America
06/05/08Rahall, D-WV, cast his vote Thursday in support of a concurrent budget resolution that rejects harmful spending cuts made by the President in favor of investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure priorities that benefit West Virginia’s working families and boost the American economy.
The budget resolution corrects these harmful cuts, by rejecting the President’s $573 billion cut to Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years that would endanger West Virginia’s 341,000 Medicare and 300,000 Medicaid recipients’ access to healthcare services, and cuts made to a host of other domestic programs, which allow many hard-working West Virginia families to lead healthy, productive lives.
“This budget is another important step on the road to economic recovery,” said Rahall. “It extends tax relief to working families, improves federal student aid programs, and expands children’s healthcare. By reducing the burden of education and healthcare costs, we are working to ease the strain placed on hard-working American families and support a healthy, productive workforce, which our country needs to remain competitive in the global economy."
“It gives me great pleasure to once again take our brave soldiers, veterans, and local law enforcement officers off the President’s budgetary chopping block,” Rahall said. “These men and women risk their lives in the name of national security and now they are getting the long-overdue funding worthy of their sacrifice.”
“As Vice Chairman and long-time member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I have been a long-time advocate of using infrastructure investment to revitalize the economy—across the nation and especially here in West Virginia,” said Rahall. “I am pleased that the budget resolution funds several highway and transit programs authorized in the 2005 Transportation Bill, which I helped craft, to strengthen America’s transportation system and meet our growing infrastructure needs.”
“Our budget eases the strain on hard-working West Virginians, creates jobs, and makes America safer,” said Rahall. “It restores our infrastructure and rebuilds our economy. I am proud to have cast my vote for this budget, which does all of this and more, while balancing the budget and investing in America.”