House Passes Bill To cut Health Care for Poor & Elderly & Tuition Cuts

[Jon8503]

House passes, sends Bush $39B spending cuts
Narrowly passed bill will cut health care spending on programs for the poor and elderly.
February 1, 2006: 7:17 PM EST


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives narrowly won passage on Wednesday of a controversial bill to trim about $39 billion from domestic spending over five years, capping a year-long push to cut health care for the poor and elderly and other programs. By a partisan vote of 216-214, the House approved the bill, sending it to President George W. Bush for signing into law. The bill, approved in the Senate in December only after Vice President Dick Cheney cast a rare tie-breaking vote, was approved by the House late last year. But a small change made by the Senate forced another House vote.

The spending cuts are a high priority of conservative Republicans who want to continue cutting taxes amid huge budget deficits, which could top $400 billion this year.

"Today we can begin the process of controlling out-of-control government spending," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a conservative Republican.

Referring to $70 billion in proposed Republican tax cuts, Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said, "You don't have to be much beyond sixth grade to know that's going to add to your deficits" when offset by only $39 billion in spending cuts. The Senate on Wednesday began debating a $70 billion tax-cut measure that would extend alternative minimum tax relief through 2006, ensuring that millions of middle-class families will not end up paying the tax that originally was intended for the very wealthy.

"These programs need our reform," said House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, an Iowa Republican, who said the spending cuts would force improvements.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/01/news/economy/domestic_spending_cuts.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

[leftchick]

1. this is their dream, to fuck the poor, fuck the infirm, fuck the elderly

fuck bush and all repukes....

<snip>
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office this week said cuts to Medicaid spending would affect 13 million poor people, 20 percent of the program's participants. Many of those would be children, the CBO said.

The savings would include higher out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and other medical care for the poor.

Lonny Lefever, 53, who lives in the small town of Rosewood in western Ohio, is a Medicaid participant who was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1995.

Lefever told Reuters in a telephone interview that higher copayments on the $1,800 in life-saving prescription drugs he takes each month will erode his only source of income, Social Security disability payments.

[MadHound]

2. More fiscal insanity from the misadministration

Cut 39 billion in essential programs for the most needy, only to turn around and give the most wealthy a 70 billion gift, at the expense of the middle class.

Don't these fools think? Study their history? Learn from past mistakes? All they are doing is setting the table for a major revolt in this country. When the middle class is gone, and all you have left are the rich and the poor, the poor will rise up in revolt, for they have nothing to lose.

These idiots are just setting themselves up for a huge fall, unfortunately they're going to take the rest of this country with them.

[maxrandb]

3. How Very "Christian" of them n/t

[BlueGirlRedState]

4. Oh good, another caring Texas Republican...

I can't keep up with them all. You get rid of Tom Delay and another one pops up. Just like groundhogs...

[triguy46]

5. It is beyond belief that this is promoted as being "good"

So providing basic medical care to the poor and elderly is the lynchpin of "out of control government spending." Surely, hopefully, isn't there somewhere a dem. candidate that can use this insanity and bring change to the Congress? How can this not be a most telling statement of what is wrong with the repugs?

[Greeby]

6. Roll Call

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll004.xml

13 R's who stood up and said no:

Gerlach
Johnson (IL)
Walter Jones (NC)
LaTourette
Leach
McHugh
Ney (Yeah, him)
Ron Paul
Ramstad
Simmons
Smith (NJ)
Sweeney
Wilson (NM)

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I didn't see ANY Democratic votes for this. We need to hang this

around the neck of the GOP this summer.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll004.xml

[Sapphire Blue]

8. To see how the cuts affect your state, click here:

http://www.chn.org/issues/opportunityforall/statefactsheets.html

Lots more info here...

One day left. NO excuses. Please, DUers. Do it. JUST DO IT!!! http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2422907