WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement today after Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan released this year’s version of the House Republican budget. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittees responsible for funding the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services.

The Budget Committee is debating and holding votes on Chairman Ryan’s budget proposal tomorrow. DeLauro will hold a press call with Sister Simone Campbell and Melissa Boteach, Vice President, Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress, Thursday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the harmful effect this budget would have on America.

“If this is Chairman Ryan’s idea of an April Fool’s joke, it is a cruel one. For our nation to succeed, we need to ensure hardworking middle and low-income Americans have the chance to do better than their parents did. That is the American Dream. Chairman Ryan and supporters of this budget would toss that dream aside in favor of increasing taxes on middle class families, cutting taxes for the wealthy and turning Medicare into a voucher program. His budget shreds our social safety net, by decimating programs such as food stamps and Medicaid, will hurt the same families who are struggling the most.

“That is unacceptable. We should be investing in lifesaving biomedical research to cure diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, not cutting the funding that makes it possible. We should be creating jobs by rebuilding our roads and bridges, not letting them decay. And we should bolster educational opportunities, from early childhood to college, so all Americans can get a good education.

“Congress came together in a bipartisan manner just a few months ago to pass a bill funding our government for the rest of this year. I urge my Republican colleagues: do not throw that all away in favor of ideological fantasies. Do not pass this budget.”