Bush Budget Proposal a Slap in the Face to Working Families

The Bush budget proposal is a slap in the face to America’s working families, too many of whom are already struggling to get by in an economy sinking under the weight of this Administration’s disastrous policies.

As in past budgets, President Bush preserves expensive tax cuts for the wealthy and boosts military spending while cutting crucial programs for the most vulnerable Americans: the elderly, the poor, the sick, youth, and displaced workers. He offers recycled versions of right-wing pet programs that lack support from the American people: Health Savings Accounts, Career Advancement Accounts, and school vouchers.

The President’s budget turns its back on working people, including even the brave men and women who responded to the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center. The budget would slash funding for the World Trade Center Medical Screening and treatment program by 77%.

The President’s budget also puts other workers at risk. Funding for the occupational safety and health research agency NIOSH would be cut by 10 percent. Funding for key entitlement programs — including Medicare and Medicaid — would be slashed by $603 billion over 10 years.

To make matters worse, President Bush’s proposed budget contains more than $760 million in cuts for job training and employment programs. Cutting training programs during an economic downturn is both bad economics and bad social policy.

In this time of crisis, President Bush should focus our nation’s tax dollars on jumpstarting economic growth, helping those in need, modernizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and building a better future for America’s working families. Far from taking into account the political and economic realities of the nation, President Bush has proposed yet another ideologically driven and ill-conceived budget, which Congress should reject.