FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 1996
CONTACT: Dana Hagerty 202/225-2165
WASHINGTON, DC -- “If you think Congress should eliminate the deficit and balance the federal budget, the plan passed the House Republicans late last week doesn’t make any sense,” says Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District). “It is not realistic and it is backloaded. Instead of being responsible and making hard choices now, they defer most of their cuts to the last two years of their plan. And what most people don’t know is that in the last two years, this same plan cancels the tax cuts it proposes to make this year.
“The budget proposed by The Coalition, or the ‘Blue Dogs’ is real and responsible,” Peterson said. “It’s a common sense budget that cuts $137 billion more from the federal debt than the Republican budget. The Coalition plan says balance the budget first, then cuts taxes.
“Support is growing for The Coalition’s budget approach,” Peterson continued. “Our budget received 130 votes in the House, with a majority of the Democratic Caucus supporting the resolution, as well as 20 Republicans.
“The House GOP proposal is especially bad for rural America. It would levy tough cuts on programs like rural health care, agriculture, and education. Rural hospitals will be hurt by reductions in Medicare reimbursements, and access to health care throughout rural areas will suffer as a result. There are also deep cuts to other rural programs, including a 26 percent cut in rural housing and a 25 percent cut in agriculture. Any further cuts to agriculture are unfair because the program has already taken more cuts from this Congress than any other part of the budget.
“The Coalition alternative is the budget plan that still makes the most sense, and I believe that when all is said and done, the final FY 1007 budget will be very close to the Blue Dog’s budget plan.”