Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. today voted against a budget package that increases the federal deficit, cuts student loans by $12 billion, makes health care harder to get and slashes funding to go after dead beat dads."Last night the President had some soaring rhetoric and lofty goals, but today, the Congress responded by telling students they would have to pay more for their student loans, business leaders that their interest rates will go up, seniors that their health care is going to be cut, and parents that their child support may be cut. We can do better. America needs a real competitiveness strategy that balances the budget, makes health care easier and cheaper to get and cuts taxes on the middle class. This budget moves us in the other direction," said Ford.
The budget which passed by a vote of 216 to 214, will impact the following areas:
* $83 billion will be added to the federal budget deficit when the spending and tax cut packages are enacted, at a time when the federal debt is $8.2 trillion.
* $12 billion will be cut from the federal student loan program, the largest cuts in the program's history, making college more expensive for 128,410 student borrowers in Tennessee.
* $35.2 billion will be cut from the Medicaid and Medicare programs at a time when 778,000 Tennesseans do not have health insurance.* $8.4 billion will be cut from the child support enforcement program letting dead beat dads off the hook and effectively raising taxes by $8.4 billion on struggling parents.
"President Bush talked about making the country more competitive, but the budget Congress passed this evening will make it harder for Tennessee small business owners to compete in the global marketplace. Businesses are paying more in taxes, more in energy costs and higher health costs. It doesn't make sense to make health care harder to get when that is one of the largest expenses faced by small business owners," Ford said.
