"BLUEPRINT" - Tell Congress to Pass the Obama Budget

[Omaha Steve]

Run time: 00:31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar4FTclpVkg   Posted on YouTube: March 25, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: March 30, 2009 By DU Member: Omaha Steve Views on DU: 256

 

http://www.afscmeblog.org/2009/03/30/budget-with-the-right-priorities-update/?__utma=1.2346843193277722000.1237762290.1238203061.1238454780.4&__utmb=1.1.10.1238454780&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1237762290.1.1.utmcsr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&__utmv=-&__utmk=118581129


March 30th, 2009

On Wednesday night, the House Budget Committee adopted a budget outline by a party-line vote of 24-15 that will advance President Obama’s visionary budget goals. The Budget Committee’s plan includes funding to reform our health care system and so-called “reconciliation” instructions that would allow legislation implementing Obama’s health care and education policies to move through the Senate without the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. The Committee considered and rejected 27 of 28 Republican amendments, including one by ranking member Paul Ryan (R-WI) that would have barred the use of a health care reserve fund to pay for the creation of a public health insurance plan option. The House budget plan advances President Obama’s commitment to invest in domestic priorities, including annually-funded programs administered by state and local governments.

On Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee adopted its version of a budget blueprint also on a party-line vote of 13-10. It includes a “reserve fund” for both health care and education legislation, which cannot add to the budget deficit. The Senate plan does not include reconciliation language and therefore would require 60 votes to pass health care reform legislation. The Budget Committee rejected Republican proposals to cut funding and to freeze non-defense annually-funded domestic spending at its current levels.

Also, this week, a new ad (see video) backing President Obama’s budget blueprint by Americans United for Change—a coalition of unions including the AFSCME, community, environmental, progressive and other groups—urges viewers to call Congress to support Obama’s budget because it:…will rebuild our economy on a solid foundation. Jobs, health care, education, clean energy reform. On this foundation we can build real, long-term economic prosperity for all Americans.

As pointed out at AFL-CIONow blog, Republicans in both houses offered up their usual scorn and criticism, but no alternative of their own to the eight years of co-rule with the Bush administration. During those eight years, the TV ad points out, the administration “turned our economy into a house of cards,” adding: Last fall, that house came tumbling down.

When asked about the ”just say no” stance Republicans have taken on the budget, Obama said:

Their alternative is to stand pat and to simply say, “We are just going to not invest in health care. We’re not going to take on energy. We’ll wait until the next time that gas gets to $4 a gallon. We will not improve our schools. And we’ll allow China or India or other countries to lap our young people in terms of their performance. We will settle on lower growth rates, and we will continue to contract, both as an economy and our ability to provide a better life for our kids.”

That, I don’t think, is the better option.