Congressional Hispanic Caucus Rejects House GOP Budget For 2016
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has released a statement condemning the Republican budget for 2016, recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The CHC argues the budget will hurt working-class and middle-class families, including Latino families, and undo many safety nets.
In a press release sent to Latin Post, the CHC repudiated the budget passed by House Republicans and accompanied it with statements from leading members of the caucus.
"The FY2016 Republican budget includes cuts to the Pell Grant program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and repeals the Affordable Care Act," the statement said.
CHC Chairwoman Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) said the budget hurt Latino families and unraveled the safety net created by defunding various programs.
"Republicans are at it again attacking the Latino community and hardworking families across the country," said Rep. Sanchez. "The House Republican budget throws our most struggling families under the bus and slashes programs that Latinos critically rely on. We strongly oppose the Republican budget vote taken before the House of Representatives today."
The second vice chair of the caucus, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) agreed, adding that the budget targets the most in need as well as students by targeting the Pell Grants and the ACA.
"The GOP's budget hurts middle class families and our economy. Republicans' proposal makes it more difficult to send kids to college, takes healthcare away from millions of folks who gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and slashes investments in infrastructure and innovation that are so important to Texas' and America's economic growth," he explained. "This budget is exactly what our young people and hardworking Americans don't need."
According to the Wall Street Journal, the GOP budget will slash government funding for social programs and raise the defense budget to $96 billion, more than the $58 billion the president asked for.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) asked his Republican counterparts to reject this budget and work together in "a commonsense budget that supports hard-working families, creates good-paying jobs, makes college more affordable, and invests in our future."
All the CHC members who released a statement expressed worry about the repeal of Obamacare, which has benefited millions of Latinos.
The Hill reports the budget aims to slash $5.5 trillion off the deficit in the next decade; however, the money allocated for defense will not be offset with spending cuts. The budget does partially privatize Medicare and turns Medicaid into a grants program for states.
The 2016 budget passed almost along partisan lines with a 228-199 vote. All Democrats voted against it along with 17 Republicans.
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