Republican budget scheme would end Medicare guarantee for 1 million in MA, would force seniors to pay more out of pocket for healthcare or forgo coverage
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee and dean of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, issued the following statement upon release of the House Republican proposed budget for FY2013.
 
“The House Republicans’ version of ‘March Madness’ features a budget that ends the Medicare guarantee for millions of seniors and rewards the GOP’s perennial favorites, billionaires and Big Oil. House Republicans once again are trotting out their well-worn playbook to ensure that billionaires and Big Oil triumph over Grandma, Grandpa, the poor and the struggling middle class. The Republican budget scheme would end the guarantee of Medicare and force seniors to pay more out of pocket for healthcare or forgo coverage because they cannot afford it.
 
“The GOP budget proposal shows that Republicans are more interested in getting Obama fired than in getting Americans hired. The GOP proposal sets up another budget showdown weeks before the November election by revising spending caps agreed to in the debt deal approved last year. It shifts the burden of budget cuts away from defense spending and onto domestic programs that help working families and Americans struggling to reach the middle class. We should be cutting wasteful nuclear weapons spending, not programs that protect the poor, the elderly, and our natural resources.
 
“The GOP budget proposal would essentially close down the Department of Energy while opening up the entire east coast, the California coast, and the entire Florida coast to oil drilling. By ending federal applied and commercial research and development funding for new and innovative energy technologies, House Republicans are effectively turning these emerging industries over to China, the European Union, and other global competitors.
 
“We cannot balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and struggling middle-class families while billionaires and corporate interests benefit from tax breaks that line their bulging pockets. Fiscal responsibility must be a priority as we continue our economic recovery and focus on priority #1 - creating jobs. Democrats will continue to call for a balanced approach to our budget, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass a budget that is fair, strengthens our economy in the long-term and protects the promise of Medicare for future generations.”
 
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