Rangel Statement on Bush Administration Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel issued the following statement on President Bush's release of the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget today:
 
“This budget is the latest in a series of missed opportunities for the President.  The Ways and Means Committee, Republicans and Democrats alike, has tried to work very closely with the Administration in trying to find bipartisan solutions to very complex problems.  It is disingenuous for the President to suggest cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that he knows the Congress will not support, it's not going to happen. 

“The most significant part of this budget proposal may be what it fails to include.  This budget is a dubious attempt at fiscal responsibility, ignoring many of the costs that have driven our nation to record deficits.  The Administration's budget claims balance in 2012 by hitting middle-class families with higher taxes and drastic cuts to Medicare.  By failing to provide more than one year of relief from the alternative minimum tax, ignoring the expected cost of the war in Iraq after 2008, and by only providing estimates for the next five years, the Administration attempts to blur the long-term costs of their proposals.

“Instead of reaching out to leaders in areas like health care, tax policy or Social Security, the Administration kept its focus on many of the same, tired proposals it has used in recent years.  We need to move beyond this one-sided approach to find common ground and improve opportunities for all Americans. 

“Unfortunately, key proposals in this budget actually do more harm to those affected than the Administration admits.  It is one thing to claim your budget balances in five years, it is entirely another to do so by raising the cost of health care for millions of seniors and cutting funding for children's health insurance benefits.  In fact, the Administration's latest health proposals would ultimately jeopardize coverage for millions of Americans who are insured through their employer and result in a Social Security benefit cut for millions of American workers. 

“I realize that a budget is a statement of principles, but this Administration needs to wake up to the reality that compromise is a necessity for the next two years.  The President should take every opportunity to reach out to Democrats and work through issues, rather than simply deliver a list of priorities.  I hope the Administration takes the opportunity to begin a more useful dialogue in the upcoming hearings on the budget, so we can begin to find common ground and work toward solutions.”