Congress passes budget bill that hits Medicaid hard

[Imagevision]

With all the hoopla that the President would be giving another rare speech to the nation this little tid-bit of information seemed to be given little if any coverage by the msm as Mr.Bush spoke on Thursday.

April 29 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congress passed a $2.6 trillion budget Thursday that would cut back Medicaid as a step toward trimming federal deficits.

It instructs Congress to freeze or cut spending in many domestic programs outside of defense and homeland security and to restrain farm, student loan, pension and some other government programs that grow automatically from year to year.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said it's time to look closely at benefit programs that are "popular but rife with waste."

"These entitlement programs deserve reform," he said. "The Medicaid system is antiquated and the quality of care is not being brought to the people that need it."

The Senate voted 52-47 to approve the blueprint of tax and spending priorities hours after the House passed it 214-211.

After the House vote, President Bush praised the budget resolution. "This is a responsible budget that reins in spending to limits not seen in years," he said in a written statement
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5375640.html

[cornermouse]

1. Inching toward making poverty, age, and disability a misdemeanor.

[DeaconBlues]

2. and yet they still are able to give tax cuts to the wealthy

.....The budget also makes way for $106 billion in tax cuts over five years, about what Bush had requested. Of that, $70 billion would be shielded from a Senate filibuster, enough to ensure that all expiring tax cuts can be extended, including the 2003 cuts to capital gains and dividend tax rates and last year's deduction for state and local sales taxes.....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/28/AR2005042800446_2.html


Glad to see their priorities are in the right place. Operation Starve the Beast goes along as planned.

[Moderator]

3. locking

discussion here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1431741