Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20150320 : v

CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings March 20, 2015

Stagnation. Thats what they said, that that he recognized people were working hard but feeling like they werent getting ahead. Thats what they said. Problem is that their budget makes it much harder on working families around the country. In fact, it will make life more difficult. It will make it harder for people to get ahead. And i think it is important to look at what it actually does. One of the things it does is greenlights, paves the way, for the romneyryan tax cut plan for the very wealthy. Again, that plan would drop the top tax rates for millionaires by a full onethird. So if youre already doing great, the republican budget is good for you. But everybody else gets those tax breaks at the expense of everybody else in the country. And the groups who are represented here today know what the impact will be. So it actually raises taxes on working families. They get rid of the Higher Education tax credit all together. Gone. They get rid of the bumpup for the Child Tax Credit. They get rid of the bumpup for the earned income tax credit. And of course, they wipe out all the Affordable Care act tax credits that help people get Affordable Health care. So they make life much more difficult for working families. For students, they actually cut from pell grants which help lots of students afford to go to college, and then they increase the cost of Student Loans for students by starting to charge interest for them in college. So students who are working hard to try to get education and are already saddled with big debt with get even bigger debts. And seniors, Prescription Drug costs will go up immediately. Theyll immediately have to pay more copays for Preventive Health services. And their medicare premiums will go up if the republicans are serious about really repealing all of the Affordable Care act. So again, a great budget if youre already on top of the economic ladder. But for everybody else in america, its going to make it harder to get ahead. Its going to be more middle class squeeze, more squeeze on working families, and im really pleased to be here with my colleagues and youre going to hear from kathy caster whos just been a great advocate on all these issues for working families. But also making sure that we invest in our future. And this republican budget disinvests in americas future in our kids, in our innovation, in modernizing our infrastructure. Without further ado, cathy caster. Rep. Cathy caster thank you chris. I want to thank Ranking Member van hollen for his advocacy on behalf of all American Families and businesses. The economys Getting Better but this republican budget puts the economic recovery at risk. Look at whats happened just over the past few years with democratic leadership in the white house. Unemployment is low. Its down about 5. 5 . Youve got low gas prices that we know is going to put over 700 in the pockets of American Families on average. And if youre lucky enough to be in the stock market, youre doing very well. Peoples retirement accounts are healthier. But the republican budget puts all of that at risk because it is a dark vision for the future that says to everyone across america that youre going to have to work harder for less. And here are a few examples because we, even though unemployment is lower, weve got to do better with paychecks, with takehome pay and higher wages. Here are a few examples. When you think about how do we boost wages across america. I had an amendment last night to make sure that america keeps its number one position globally in medical research. It was an amendment that said its time to answer the call of dr. Francis collins at nih. The journal of american the American Medical Association said congress, unless you act soon, asia the Asian Countries are going to eat our lunch. Theyre going to become the World Leaders in medical research. The republicans rejected additional investments in medical research. We anticipate that that is going to cost us 1300 grants to our young talented scientists and it is going to put families more at risk at a time when weve got to keep working for the cures for cancer, heart disease, alzheimers and those kind of conditions. Heres another example. Were facing another cliff when it comes to transportation and infrastructure. At the end of may, we are going to run out of money andin the Highway Trust Fund. Although we hear lip service from our republican colleagues oh, were for transportation and infrastructure, the republican budget has no plan whatsoever. We predict it will result in about a 190 billion cut over future years in how we invest in transportation and infrastructure. In my home state of florida, those are higher wage jobs. The engineers, the folks who build our roads and airports and seaports. The republicans will put us at greater risk for our economic future. Another example, finally, is what they do to education. All across the country right now, there are High School Students waiting to hear where they are accepted to college. Thats going to come out over the next few weeks. But at the same time, the republicans are offering a budget that is going to dash the hopes of students across this country because they cut the pell grant so drastically, cut the American Opportunity tax credit, make it harder to get a student loan. So thats a recipe for a bleaker future. Its going to put the economic recovery at risk. They are going to ask people to work harder for less. Its a sham and it really is a risk to americas economic future. Rep. Van hollen thank you cathy. And thank you for being there in the future all last night and into the morning. Now were going to hear from congresswoman Michelle Lujan grisham who was an expert on Health Care Issues long before she came to the congress. She headed up the new Mexico Department of health. Shes going to talk about the impact of this budget on health care from medicare to medicaid both of which take big hits in this budget. Rep. Grisham thank you. Thank you, chris. I always have to start with lowering all the microphones or i got to find a way to raise my stature before the podium. Good afternoon. I really appreciate that youre here because what youre hearing from us and youll hear in a moment from other experts that are serving middle class families and working on effective policies that do really two things. One with be make sure the protections for middle class americans were talking seniors and kids and hard working families and the disabled but also in addition to those protections, make sure that were investing so, for example, those seniors with their Retirement Income continue to spend in this economy in a way thats good for all of us and continues to bolster Economic Growth. This budget doesnt do any of that. In fact, over and over again last night and early this morning, i really appreciate congressman van hollands reiterating that we hear from our republican colleagues that this is meant to protect those very people, but if youre going to turn medicare into a Voucher Program for all future beneficiaries, if youre going to take the current Medicare Program, if you want to stay in that, youre going to pay more. If youre going to remove investments in medicare for Additional Services like Preventative Services, Prescription Drug protection by making sure that you have access to affordable Prescription Drugs, by removing the Affordable Care act investments in medicare, you arent reshaping medicare, you are destroying medicare for current beneficiaries and for future beneficiaries. If you want to take a trillion dollars out of medicaid which protects older people, disabled adults, long term care, enables them to stay part of their families and in that community if youre going to take away that Health Care Safety net from poor and sick children, states like mine where we have the sickest population and the poorest population in the country, then you really arent taking care of those folks. Its like saying that if you go out and get a sunburn, that we believe that actually reduces the risks of getting skin cancer. It makes absolutely no sense. Im really concerned as we debate about taxes and we have to wait and see what that reform would look like to actually defend the budget that we have which again devastates medicaid, asks states to use much less money and to be more to do that in a block grant, if you will. All that means is the only opportunity states have is to actually take people off the medicaid rolls. And again, to completely decimate medicare. Then were basically telling seniors and disabled adults and children that if theyre duly eligible or theyre on the Medicare Program, that theyre not going to be taxed in order to stay in any one of those services which means we dont have a Health Care Infrastructure for any american moving forward. Im actually ashamed that this is a budget that proposes those changes to those critical programs. I thank you very much, thank you for being here and yield back. Rep. Van hollen all right. Well, thank you. Thanks for your passion on these issues. In a moment, were going to hear from each of three representatives from the more than 70 or 80 people who gathered just a short while ago to talk about the impact of this budget. As i turn it over i just want to stress one thing. The republicans claim that their number one objective is to somehow reduce the deficit and balance the budget. Our priority is to make sure that we get an economy moving and make sure people have good paying jobs. But the republican claim that they balance the budget, it just isnt so. Not even close. If you followed the hearing the other day, you would realize that even republicans were looking pretty embarrassed about the fact that their budget would not pass muster with enron accounts. It wouldnt balance in the ten years without the Affordable Care act revenue in savings. At the same time they claim to be getting rid of the Affordable Care act. It wouldnt come close to balance if they included the more than 1 trillion in tax extenders, increased tax business tax cuts that theyve tried to push for on the floor of the house. Then on top of that, they claim a deficit reduction bonus based on phantom deficit reduction so in year ten it doesnt even come close, and anybody who tries to say that with a straight face deserves to have a reality check. Heres the other point. While theyre willing to make these deep cuts in education, in our Infrastructure Investments in science research, while theyre willing to hit seniors on medicare, seniors and others on medicaid, while they hit the food and nutrition programs by 125 billion, while they do all that, they dont close one special interest tax loophole. Not one for the purpose of reducing the deficit. They dont get rid of the Corporate Jet tax break. They dont get of the ledge Fund Managers tax break. We, according to the cbo, spend more on tax breaks every year than on social security. The tax expenditures are higher every year 1. 4 trillion a year compared to social security. Thats more from tax expenditures, more than medicare, more than other parts of the budget. Andy et they cut all these other things, put everybody else at risk, but wont take away one tax break. So were really pleased to have representatives from groups who have their priorities straight the priorities that the American Public has. Were going to hear from Deb Weinstein from the center of human needs. Were going to hear from joel packer for the committee for Education Funding. And well hear from Stacy Sanders from the medicare rights center. Lets start with Deb Weinstein and thank you for your passion and advocacy for hard working americans and people struggling to make ends meet. Deborah weinstein thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity and everything that congressman van hollen and his colleagues here are standing for. You no he, at the coalition on human needs, we watched with great interest this past fall when there was a lot of talk about concern about inequality concern about poverty, and it was voiced by republicans and democrats and we welcome that because there hadnt been a lot on the republican side, it seemed like. But i guess that was then. That was talk, and their budget is not exactly action. It is a blueprint for the kind of action that they would like to take, and than action would make inequality worse, would make poverty worse. Let me give just one example that representative van holland mentioned. And this, this budget would allow the health to low income working families from the Child Tax Credit and the earned income tax credit, it would allow the improvements in that to expire. And what that would do is leave 16 million people, many of them children, either in poverty or more deeply in poverty. Just that one failure. In addition, the block granting and drastic cutting of food stamps, or s. N. A. P. , the drop granting and drastic cutting of medicaid, these are things that will hurt children, will hurt working families, and will drive people further into poverty. Throughout the budget, cuts in education, cuts in housing and so many other aspects. Child care. The kinds of tools that help people work. Those will be torn away at the same time that there will be these greater breaks for people at the top. Inequality gets worse. Poverty gets worse. If this budget were to be allowed to take effect. Rep. Van hollen next, were going to hear from joel packer from the committee for Education Funding to talk about the impact of the budget on education issues. Joel packer thank you. Thanks for having me. My representative community for Education Funding is a National Coalition of 116 education groups. The budget that the committee reported at today is really going to be devastating for students and children from preschool through Higher Education. It does that in three major ways. First, in the pot of mrn thats called nondefense discretionary, thats the pot of money that the Appropriations Committee allocates each year, it is where most Education Programs are funded along with many other important programs, it starts up by freezing that pot of money at the sequester level for fiscal year 2016 leaving no room for any needed investments. Then much worse, in the next nine years, it slashes those funds by 759 billion. It is an average cut of 14 . 14 cut in the department of education would be almost 7 billion, 8 billion that would really be harmful for extra reading help, services for are children with disability college work study. Second, it devastates the pell Grant Program. Pell Grant Program has funding both on the discretionary side and the mandatory side. This budget completely eliminates all mandatory funding for pell grants. 90 billion. That would wipe out funds that increase the maximum grant award. It would result in a cut in the maximum grant of 915, almost 16 . At a time when College Costs are going up and students need help to be able to afford college. Third, it also really hits Student Loans. It eliminates the interest subsidy on Student Loans for undergraduate students who have financial need. Thats another almost 40 billion. Thats going to increase the cost of loans on average by about 3,800. Again, just made college more less affordable and more expensive. It has other cuts in the Student Loan Program eliminating something called Public Service loan forgiveness that helps people who want to go in jobs like teaching and Law Enforcement and Public Service law to help them be able to pay their loans and make college affordable. Overall, whether its kid in head start or people in Higher Education, this budget cuts them from every side and we hope that the Congress Rejects it as it moves forward. Rep. Van hollen thank you joel. Next right here from Stacy Sanders with the medicare rights center. Thank you. Stacy sanders thank you. Great to be here today. I represent the medicare rights center. Each year my Organization Works directly with over 1 1 2 million older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers. People who rely on the Medicare Program for their basic health and economic security. This budget in the 50th anniversary year of

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