[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 56 (Friday, April 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012

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                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 34) 
     establishing the budget for the United States Government for 
     fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary 
     levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021:

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the Ryan 
budget. There are many reasons to oppose this budget.
  Among them is the unconscionable provision that ends the Medicare 
guarantee of health care for our nation's seniors.
  Since many of my colleagues have already spoken about the serious 
negative impact the Ryan Budget will have on Medicare, I will focus my 
comments on another egregious provision that unravels the Medicaid 
safety net.
  The Republican budget before this House cuts support for seniors in 
nursing homes, disabled individuals and low-income children who depend 
on Medicaid.
  This proposal to starve Medicaid of funds is nothing more than a 
heartless assault on America's poorest and most vulnerable--our 
children, seniors, the disabled and minority communities who rely on 
Medicaid for their health care.
  Last year alone, 60 million Americans were served by Medicaid. Thirty 
million of those were children.
  According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, if the 
Republican budget were to become law, states which are already buried 
in debt would face significant challenges in achieving enough cost 
savings to mitigate the loss of Federal funding.
  As a result: states would likely begin to limit eligibility; Medicaid 
enrollees would have limited access to care and higher out-of-pocket 
costs and health care providers would lose money due to more 
uncompensated care and lost coverage.
  In my district, where more than 250,000 residents are uninsured and 
tens of thousands more rely on Medicaid for their health care, this 
extreme Republican budget will be disastrous.
  There are better and fairer ways to address our country's deficit 
that will protect the Medicaid safety net, create jobs, protect our 
seniors and invest in our children and the future of our country.
  It is a mystery to me why Republicans are willing to fight to protect 
the tax cuts for big oil and the super wealthy and sacrifice millions 
of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans who will lose their 
medical and long-term care.
  Democrats will fight to ensure this proposal is never enacted, and I 
encourage all my colleagues to oppose this cruel and shortsighted 
budget.

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