Media Release
| For Immediate Release | Contact | Phone |
| January 23, 2006 | Mike Olender | 732-246-4772 |
| Ev Liebman | 856-966-3091 |
New Jersey Citizen Action Calls on Representatives Saxton, LoBiondo, Ferguson, Frelinghuysen and Garrett to Vote No on corrupt GOP Budget that will hurt hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans
Releases Report on the Impact of the Proposed Federal Budget Bill on New Jersey
Representatives Pallone and Holt, Assemblyman Herb Conaway Join Community Leaders to Stand Against Immoral Budget Reconciliation Bill
Trenton — Today, at a State House press conference in Trenton, New Jersey, NJ Citizen Action released a new report detailing the projected effects the federal budget bill will have on New Jersey's seniors, students, children, disabled, poor and low-income working families, entitled How Cuts in Vital Services Now Before the House Will Hurt New Jersey. Congressmen Frank Pallone (D-6) and Rush Holt (D-12) and Assemblyman Herb Conaway (LD-7) joined NJCA and other community leaders to urge House members Jim Saxton (R-3), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11), Frank LoBiondo (R-2), and Scott Garrett (R-5) to vote against the federal budget reconciliation bill, which will cut $40 billion from health care, student loans, child support enforcement, aid to people with severe disabilities, and other programs. Representative Chris Smith (R-4) voted with the Democratic members against the bill in the previous vote. The bill comes as Congress is considering $70 billion in tax cuts that favor the wealthiest in the state. The bill is scheduled for a vote on February 1, 2006.
"With the rising costs of health care, education, and child care in our state, it is immoral for any of our Congressional representatives to vote in favor of a budget bill that will hurt their own constituencies when they need it most, said Ev Liebman, Program Director of New Jersey Citizen Action. "We call on Representatives Frelinghuysen, LoBiondo, Saxton, Garret, and Ferguson to do the right thing this time around and vote 'no' on this horrendous budget bill on February 1st."
"The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO is one of the leading opponents of these proposed cuts that hurt America's working families, said Don Dielo, Political Director of AFSCME, stated. "We resolve to fight these cuts in every arena and to put pressure on the Congress to listen to America's workers and their families."
Representative William Pascrell (D-8) could not attend the press conference but expressed their concern of the effects the budget will have on the state.
"America's failure to serve our poor was fully exposed when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast," stated Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. "Instead of addressing the poverty that haunted our screens day after day, the Bush Administration and Congress used it as an excuse to trim the budget by cutting the healthcare safety net for low-income seniors, children, and the disabled. They shamelessly slashed student loans at a time when our families are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing tuition costs."
He added, "Cutting services to those who need them most, our young and weak, old and infirm, is the worst way to shave the deficit that reckless spenders in Washington created five years ago. It is a way for the Bush Administration to subsidize the tax breaks being issued to the richest of the rich. Rather than learning the painful lessons of Katrina, the Administration and Republican leaders are using the tragedy to pass budget cuts that will leave the most vulnerable in America further and further behind."
Congress continues to pursue borrow-and-spend fiscal policies that shortchange those most deserving of help while offering tax breaks to those that need it least," said Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12). "This budget reconciliation is immoral and deserves to fail."
Other speakers included Susannah Porter, State Director of National Organization of Women–New Jersey, Serena Rice of the Poverty Research Institute of Legal Services of New Jersey, Terry Kiely of Mercer Street Friends, and Walter Kalman of the National Association of Social Workers–New Jersey.
The report outlines how the budget bill, on which the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on February 1, will reduce benefits for nearly all of the state's 454,000 children who receive Medicaid, threaten long-term care services for New Jersey's 112,000 elderly Medicaid recipients, cuts child support enforcement, cuts High Performance Bonus funds from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), increases the waiting time for aid for New Jerseyans with severe disabilities, and cuts funding for student loan programs.
The budget bill's controversial cuts has drawn out the budget process and finally passed in a year-end late night session. The budget and tax reconciliation process is replete with examples of powerful interests getting their way while ordinary Americans get the shaft:
The Abramoff–Norquist Circle — Lobbyist for Tax Breaks for the Rich under Scrutiny for Ties to Convicted Lobbyist
Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, has been the key advocate and lobbyist for new tax breaks for the rich (tax breaks for capital gains and stock dividends) to the tune of $70 billion which are being pursued as part of the corrupt budget and tax reconciliation process. He has also fought for the budget cuts on the poor and middle class which are being pursued to fund these tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans. Norquist is under intense scrutiny for a web of financial dealings and his close association with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff who has pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and is cooperating with federal prosecutors in a vast influence peddling investigation. Norquist's records have been subpoenaed by Congressional investigators after he refused for six months to detail his financial dealings with Abramoff or other donors for whom he is lobbying for on issues like budget and tax reconciliation.
Boehner — Harms Students but Has Student Lenders "In My Two Trusted Hands"
In the $12.7 billion in cuts to student loan programs in the proposed budget reconciliation bill, 70% come from higher borrower interest rates and excessive student and parent payments. Rather than cut subsidies to student lenders, Representative John Boehner, one of the principal architects of this legislation, targeted middle class families for the cuts. In December meeting with private student lenders he reassured them saying: "Relax. Stay calm. At the end of the day, I believe you'll be at least satisfied, or even perhaps happy. Know that I have all of you in my two trusted hands." [Chronicle of Higher Education, from the issue dated December 16, 2005]
Former Powerful Member, PhRMA, Spikes Medicaid Drug Rebate Provision
Perhaps the most powerful special interest lobby in town is PhRMA, the trade association for the multi-national drug companies. PhRMA is run, in the revolving door fashion which characterizes the current corruption scandals, by former U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin who wrote the flawed Medicare Prescription drug law when he served in the House with an eye towards a million dollar a year job with the drug lobby. While scores of poor children will lose access to health care through Medicaid, while seniors will be denied nursing home care and while those suffering from mental illness will find it more difficult to access the services they require – Tauzin and the powerful drug lobby he represents made sure their ox wasn't gored. Eliminated from the final conference report on budget reconciliation was a provision which would have increased the rebate paid by drug manufacturers for covered outpatient drugs from 15.1% to 17% – a boon to the drug companies of $3.9 billion.
Insurance Companies Prevail Over the Poor — Maintain Needless Medicare Rx Drug Slush Fund to the Tune of $5.4 billion
The powerful AHIP (American Health Insurance Plans), the big lobby for the nation's health insurance companies, made sure its clients didn't fall victim to the Republican Majority's phony "deficit reduction package." While students are being creamed, while poor parents will lose access to child care, while child support collections will slide with the cuts to child support enforcement - powerful insurance companies successfully removed a provision from the budget which would have repealed the needless Medicare Advantage PPO "stabilization fund" designed to promote plans' entry into new regions even though there is virtually no evidence that the plans are experiencing challenges in entering regions. This provision could have saved $5.44 billion. Instead, student loans were slashed, health care for the poor was pillaged and child care and child support are being sacrificed for tax breaks which are also supported by the insurance companies and their high powered lobbyists. So powerful is the insurance lobby within Republican circles that President Bush actually threatened to veto the budget reconciliation bill if the Medicare Rx drug slush fund was not maintained.
Here is the Statement of Ev Liebman, New Jersey Citizen Action Program Director, on the Impact of the Federal GOP Budget on NJ’s Seniors, Children, Students, Disabled, Poor and Low-Income Working Families (January 23, 2006 – State House, Trenton).
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New Jersey Citizen Action is the state's largest citizen watchdog coalition, with over 100 affiliate organizations and 60,000 individual members.
