Calling proposed Republican budget cuts damaging to our country and especially cruel to our nation’s seniors, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) joined her Democratic colleagues in Congress today in opposing the Republican 2012 budget plan voted on today and passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.  While protecting tax cuts for the wealthy and subsidies for oil companies, the Republican plan would dismantle Medicaid, resulting in restricting access to care for the most vulnerable Americans, and end Medicare as we know it, shifting more health care costs to seniors.

“In my district, where more than 250,000 residents are uninsured and tens of thousands more rely on Medicaid for their health care, this extreme Republican budget will be disastrous,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.  “There are better and fairer ways to address our country’s deficit that will protect the Medicaid safety net, create jobs, protect our seniors and invest in our children and the future of our country.”

The full text of the congresswoman’s congressional record statement about the damaging impact of the Republican 2012 budget plan on seniors is as follows:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Ryan budget. There are many reasons to oppose this budget.

Among them is the unconscionable provision that ends the Medicare guarantee of health care for our nation’s seniors. 
Since many of my colleagues have already spoken about the serious negative impact the Ryan Budget will have on Medicare, I will focus my comments on another egregious provision that unravels the Medicaid safety net.

The Republican budget before this House cuts support for seniors in nursing homes, disabled individuals and low-income children who depend on Medicaid.

This proposal to starve Medicaid of funds is nothing more than a heartless assault on America’s poorest and most vulnerable: our children, seniors, the disabled and minority communities who rely on Medicaid for their health care.  Last year alone, 60 million Americans were served by Medicaid. Thirty million of those were children.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, if the Republican budget were to become law, states which are already buried in debt would face significant challenges in achieving enough cost savings to mitigate the loss of federal funding.

As a result:
• states would likely begin to limit eligibility,
• Medicaid enrollees would have limited access to care and higher out-of-pocket costs, and
• health care providers would lose money due to more uncompensated care and lost coverage.

In my district, where more than 250,000 residents are uninsured and tens of thousands more rely on Medicaid for their health care, this extreme Republican budget will be disastrous.

There are better and fairer ways to address our country’s deficit that will protect the Medicaid safety net, create jobs, protect our seniors and invest in our children and the future of our country.

It is a mystery to me why Republicans are willing to fight to protect the tax cuts for big oil and the super wealthy and sacrifice millions of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans who will lose their medical and long-term care.

Democrats will fight to ensure this proposal is never enacted, and I encourage all my colleagues to oppose this cruel and short sighted budget.”

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