Disastrous Budget Bill Passes House, Likely to Be Blocked in Senate

In an unsurprising but discouraging vote yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a budget bill to implement components of the FY 2013 budget resolution introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). 218 Members of Congress, all Republicans, voted in favor of the bill, which would slash funding for Medicaid, food stamps (SNAP), child care, the Affordable Care Act, and more. (Sixteen Republicans and 183 Democrats voted no.)

Supporters have asserted that these drastic cuts – which would cripple programs that are vital to low-income women and their families – are necessary to avoid the automatic cuts (known as the “sequester”) scheduled to take effect in 2013 under the Budget Control Act. New revenue from the wealthiest individuals and corporations would be a far better way to replace the sequester, but the bill that passed the House does not ask for one penny from those who could actually afford to contribute to deficit reduction.

Fortunately, it looks like the House budget bill will meet its end in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has come out strongly against the House proposal, criticizing its one-sided approach that “would slash investments that strengthen our economy and shred the social safety net in order to protect tax breaks for the rich and inflate defense spending.” He affirmed that “the sequester is the only path forward” unless Congress considers “a more reasonable approach… that asks every American to pay his fair share.”

I couldn’t agree more: the only acceptable deficit reduction plan is one that protects programs for low-income people and requires the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share. Let’s hope a majority in Congress gets the message.