Co-Chairs Grijalva and Ellison & Budget Task Force Chair Honda Blast Republican Plan

[cal04]

Source: The Congressional Progressive Caucus

Co-Chairs Raúl M. Grijalva and Keith Ellison & Budget Task Force Chair Michael Honda Blast Republican Plan to End Medicare

By walking away from every negotiation – from the Deficit Commission to the Biden Commission to direct talks with the President – Republicans have made it clear that they place politics above responsibly solving the country’s budget challenges. Now they have introduced their extreme “Cut, Cap and Balance” proposal. This bill would dramatically cut our country’s most critical investments, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It would also cut funding for public education, Pell grants, repairing roads, bridges and waterways, and disaster relief.

Republicans have made their values abundantly clear. The “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act” would essentially make it unconstitutional to care for our seniors, our veterans, and our children. As Jacob Lew, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said this weekend, “What these amendments do is not just say you have to balance the budget, but it puts in place spending limitations that would force us to cut Social Security and Medicare more deeply than even the House budget resolution did.” On top of this, the amendment fails to end huge tax giveaways to corporations who ship jobs overseas, or tax subsidies for millionaires and billionaires.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus stands by The People’s Budget, the only budget that actually creates a surplus by 2021. Our budget introduces common-sense reforms to strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, without cutting benefits that Americans depend on. We also make sure those who have benefited from America’s economy pay their fair share to ensure its future strength. We end wasteful defense spending, close corporate loopholes, and end the Bush tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

Read more: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=61§iontree=5,61&itemid=362

[senseandsensibility]

1. Rep. Honda is my congressman.

He needs to stand firm. Plese call your congressman, no matter what their party affiliation. I will not stop calling mine even though he seems to be a safe bet against this monstrosity.

[TrollBuster9090]

2. The Congressional Progressive Caucus really needs to start making a lot more noise,

And we need to start giving them a lot more attention. Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, O'Donnell etc, should be interviewing these people all the time.

If Obama wants to follow Clinton as a "third way triangulator" he should at least have some REAL progressive plans to triangulate with. This debate, such that it is, should not be framed as a "compromise" between Obama on the "left" and the Republicans on the right. It needs to be framed as the Progressive Caucus on the center-left vs. the Republicans on the far right and their far FAR right Tea Party lunatic allies. If Obama wants to paint himself as a centrist in THAT type of milieu, I'm fine with it.

[bullwinkle428]

4. Spot-on that they need more visibility, but not seeing them at all other

than on Rachel & Keith's shows. Lawrence O'Donnell? Forget about it!

[Kolesar]

3. Defense Savings

The People's Budget
Budget of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/files/The_CPC_FY2012_Budget.pdf

Defense Savings
• End overseas contingency operations emergency supplementals starting in Fiscal Year 2013,
providing $170 billion in FY2012 to fund redeployment, while saving more than $1.8 trillion
from current law spending levels over ten years
• Reduce baseline defense spending by reducing strategic capabilities, conventional forces,
procurement, and R&D programs
---

Reduce base discretionary defense spending

Our budget institutes a realistic reduction in
defense spending on conventional and strategic forces and capabilities that would not compromise
our national security interests or capabilities. Savings would accrue from decreasing routine
deployment of U.S. troops overseas (ignoring overseas contingency operations), reducing the size
of the Army and Marine Corps as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, reducing the fleet
size of the U.S. Navy, reducing the number of Air Force squadrons, and canceling outdated coldwar weapon systems (including variations of the F-35, MV-22 Osprey, and Expeditionary Fighting
Vehicle), among other savings.

This proposal does not touch Tri-Care