WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 – Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) will introduce Wednesday the first Democratic amendment to Senate Republicans’ fiscal year 2018 budget resolution. The amendment would prevent Republicans from enacting their plan to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion in order to give a $1.9 trillion tax break to the top 1 percent. The amendment would be fully paid for by stopping Republicans from giving the wealthiest people in America another tax break.
Sanders, Stabenow and Casey’s amendment, which will come up for a vote at 3 p.m. today, would protect the more than 30 million children, 11 million individuals with disabilities, 7 million seniors and 1.7 million veterans who rely on Medicaid.
“What does it mean if you have constituents who are suffering today with cancer, heart disease, asthma or diabetes, and they have Medicaid taken away from them? What happens to them when they cannot afford to go to the doctor when they are sick or buy the medicine that they need?” asked Sanders. “If 15 million Americans lose Medicaid and are thrown off of health insurance, many thousands of our fellow Americans will die and many more will suffer and become much sicker than they should.”
“Millions of children, families, seniors and people with disabilities in Michigan rely on Medicaid for their health care needs. In fact, three out of five seniors in nursing homes in Michigan receive health coverage through Medicaid. It is outrageous that Republicans are proposing a $1 trillion cut to these vital services in order to fund a tax break for the top 1 percent,” said Stabenow.
“Cutting Medicaid to fund tax giveaways to the super-rich is wrong,” said Casey. “Betraying working families, people with disabilities and families paying for nursing care for loved ones to fund tax giveaways to the wealthiest must be stopped, which is what this amendment will do. This amendment is a simple choice between the promise of Medicaid and obscene tax cuts for the super-rich.”
Poll after poll shows the American people do not want to see cuts to Medicaid or tax breaks for billionaires.
Nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose slashing Medicaid, according to a recent poll from PRRI.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that only 12 percent of the American people believe the wealthy should receive a tax cut; while 62 percent believe the wealthy should pay more in taxes.
Read the text of the amendment here.
