LET THEM EAT PORK...
AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND
The Progress Report
by Judd Legum, Faiz Shakir, Nico Pitney
Amanda Terkel, Payson Schwin, and Christy Harvey
www.progressreport.org
10/21/2005
For news and updates throughout the day, check out our new blog at
ThinkProgress.org.
BUDGET
After Katrina, More of The Same
For many, the shocking images of Americans left stranded in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that this country needed to reassess its
priorities to improve the lives of the least fortunate. The conservative
leadership in Congress was not so moved. As part of an esoteric process called
"budget reconciliation," right-wing leadership is proposing $35 billion in cuts
for programs that benefit the least fortunate. Programs likely to face the
chopping block include Medicaid, food stamps and student loans. The program cuts
are being sold as a painful but necessary step to reduce the federal decifit.
But don't believe the hype. The $35 billion in program cuts are being paired
with at least $70 billion in new tax cuts for the wealthy, resulting in a net
increase in the deficit. The federal budget should be a refection of our values
and priorities. This year's budget process shows that Congress still doesn't get
it.
BIG TAX CUTS FOR THE ULTRA-RICH: The $70 billion in tax cuts "are likely to go
overwhelmingly to high-income taxpayers." According to an analysis by Urban
Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, "53 percent of the benefits
from these...provisions...are going to the 0.2 percent of households with
incomes over $1 million a year." Three-quarters of these tax cuts "are going to
the 3.3 percent of households with incomes exceeding $200,000 a year."
THE OFF-SET MYTH: The House of Representatives is pursuing even deeper spending
cuts in critical government programs. One right-wing group is pushing about $50
billion in cuts, supposedly as a way to "off-set" the costs of reconstruction on
the Gulf Coast. Actually, any spending cuts would only partially off-set tax
cuts, and do nothing to off-set Katrina reconstruction. (American Progress has a
real plan to eliminate unnecessary spending in the wake of Katrina.)
CONSERVATIVES INVOKE GOD TO JUSTIFY BUDGET CUTS: Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN),
chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), has been leading House
conservatives in the effort to slash the budget. But the conservative effort has
been lead by a higher force than Pence. On Monday, the RSC sent an e-mail to 100
House conservatives quoting George Washington:"My diffidence in my own abilities
was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause and the patronage
of heaven." Now that the vote on the budget cuts has been delayed, the right
will need their patron to step in once again.
TRADITION OF PORK IN THE SENATE CONTINUES: Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) isn't going
anywhere. Yesterday Stevens threatened to resign if the Senate took away his
title of "chief porker" and $453 million for two controversial state bridges --
the "Bridge to Nowhere" and "Don Young's Way," the bridge named after Rep. Don
Young (R), which could eventually cost taxpayers $1.5 million. Luckily for
Stevens, the Senate defeated by a vote of 15-82 Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK)
amendment to shift all the Alaska bridge money to funding for rebuilding the
$500 million-$600 million Twin Spans Bridge in New Orleans. "I believe that we
should spend taxpayer dollars where they are most needed," Coburn wrote fellow
senators asking for support. Steven's constituents seem to agree with Coburn.
"This money, a gift from the people of Alaska, will represent more than just
material aid; it will be a symbol for our beleaguered democracy," wrote a
resident to the Anchorage Daily News.
ENVIRONMENT
Dirty Dealings At The EPA
For many, the shocking images of Americans left stranded in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that this country needed to reassess its
priorities to improve the lives of the least fortunate. The conservative
leadership in Congress was not so moved. As part of an esoteric process called
"budget reconciliation," right-wing leadership is proposing $35 billion in cuts
for programs that benefit the least fortunate. Programs likely to face the
chopping block include Medicaid, food stamps and student loans. The program cuts
are being sold as a painful but necessary step to reduce the federal decifit.
But don't believe the hype. The $35 billion in program cuts are being paired
with at least $70 billion in new tax cuts for the wealthy, resulting in a net
increase in the deficit. The federal budget should be a refection of our values
and priorities. This year's budget process shows that Congress still doesn't get
it.
BIG TAX CUTS FOR THE ULTRA-RICH: The $70 billion in tax cuts "are likely to go
overwhelmingly to high-income taxpayers." According to an analysis by Urban
Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, "53 percent of the benefits
from these...provisions...are going to the 0.2 percent of households with
incomes over $1 million a year." Three-quarters of these tax cuts "are going to
the 3.3 percent of households with incomes exceeding $200,000 a year."
THE OFF-SET MYTH: The House of Representatives is pursuing even deeper spending
cuts in critical government programs. One right-wing group is pushing about $50
billion in cuts, supposedly as a way to "off-set" the costs of reconstruction on
the Gulf Coast. Actually, any spending cuts would only partially off-set tax
cuts, and do nothing to off-set Katrina reconstruction. (American Progress has a
real plan to eliminate unnecessary spending in the wake of Katrina.)
CONSERVATIVES INVOKE GOD TO JUSTIFY BUDGET CUTS: Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN),
chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), has been leading House
conservatives in the effort to slash the budget. But the conservative effort has
been lead by a higher force than Pence. On Monday, the RSC sent an e-mail to 100
House conservatives quoting George Washington:"My diffidence in my own abilities
was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause and the patronage
of heaven." Now that the vote on the budget cuts has been delayed, the right
will need their patron to step in once again.
TRADITION OF PORK IN THE SENATE CONTINUES: Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) isn't going
anywhere. Yesterday Stevens threatened to resign if the Senate took away his
title of "chief porker" and $453 million for two controversial state bridges --
the "Bridge to Nowhere" and "Don Young's Way," the bridge named after Rep. Don
Young (R), which could eventually cost taxpayers $1.5 million. Luckily for
Stevens, the Senate defeated by a vote of 15-82 Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK)
amendment to shift all the Alaska bridge money to funding for rebuilding the
$500 million-$600 million Twin Spans Bridge in New Orleans. "I believe that we
should spend taxpayer dollars where they are most needed," Coburn wrote fellow
senators asking for support. Steven's constituents seem to agree with Coburn.
"This money, a gift from the people of Alaska, will represent more than just
material aid; it will be a symbol for our beleaguered democracy," wrote a
resident to the Anchorage Daily News.
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