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 on the Seniors Task Force in Congress today in blasting the Republican 2012 budget plan unveiled this week. The plan, which may be brought up for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as next week, would cut about $6 trillion in spending over a decade. 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.

The congresswoman gave the following remarks today at a press conference about the hurtful impact of the Republican 2012 budget plan on seniors:

“Good afternoon and thank you for attending today’s press conference. I thank Senior Task Force chairs Doris Matsui and Jan Schakowsky for their invitation to join them in highlighting the Republican assault on America’s seniors.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I have gained an appreciation for the fact that the federal budget is about much more than just dollars and cents. It is a moral document that reflects our priorities and our values.

The budget that was released yesterday by Representative Ryan is a reflection of Republican values and priorities and it isn’t a pretty picture.

At this very moment in a room nearby the Republican majority is marking up their new FY2012 Republican budget proposal.

They say this budget is going to be good for America, and good for our senior citizens who worked hard all their lives to earn their retirement benefits.

However, the details of their bill reveal a different story.

Republicans don’t just plan on cutting Medicare, they plan on destroying it.

According to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday, the Republican plan would “essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.”
In other words the Republican budget is not a reform budget, it is a termination budget.

Furthermore, the Republican budget plan would transform Medicare from its current format to a privatized voucher system where future health care cost increases get thrown on the back of America’s seniors.
The median income for a senior is just a little over $19,000 a year. Many will not be able to pay more for health care or the costs of long-term care on their own.

And the alleged savings under the Republican budget plan will come from denying medical care to seniors.
A few weeks ago Majority Leader Cantor said, “We're going to have to come to grips with the fact that programs like Medicare cannot exist if we want America to be what we want America to be.”

Well, what Democrats want America to be is one that fights for our seniors, not one that robs them of their savings or denies them healthcare.

And Democrats want America to be a country where seniors earn and receive a dignified retirement.
That is why Democrats will continue to fight to protect America’s seniors from this cruel Republican budget.”