Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference Following Release of Trump’s Budget
Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee Bernie Sanders and Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee John Yarmuth to hold a press conference to respond to the release of the Trump budget proposal. Below are the Leader’s remarks:
Leader Pelosi. “Thank you very much Leader Schumer. It’s an honor to be here with you the distinguished Ranking Member [Bernie Sanders] in the Senate Budget Committee, as well as the distinguished Ranking Member [John Yarmuth] in the House Budget Committee. I associate myself with their remarks which I heard by phone on the way over.
“Here we are: President Trump’s budget is a stark showcase of President Trump’s broken promises to America’s hardworking families.
“Jobs. In his own words, the President promised he would be the greatest job producer that God ever created. Instead, his budget steals hundreds of billions of dollars from critical job-creating investments in infrastructure, education and clean energy.
“Health care. The President promised he would, ‘free the earth from the miseries of disease.’ Instead, in addition to the devastation of Trumpcare, he wants to chop more than seven billion dollars from the National Institutes of Health. One-fifth of its budget. The National Institutes of Health, the biblical power to cure – [if] we have scientific capability, you should put resources. [It] cuts one fifth of the budget.
“Social Security. Social Security and Medicare has been mentioned by the Leader and others. The President promised he would not cut Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. Instead – and this bears repeating – the budget slashes Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. And what’s strange about it, when asked about it, Director Mulvaney says, ‘we didn’t cut Social Security, no we cut Social Security Disability Insurance.’ That’s cutting Social Security.
“Another $610 billion on top of the already staggering $840 billion dollar Medicaid cut in Trumpcare so we’re talking about $1.4 – almost $1.5 trillion – in cuts in cuts in Medicare, in Medicaid.
“The President promised, in terms of clean air and clean water, to make sure, he said, we have clean air and clean water. Instead, he is ransacking the EPA and slashing funding for cleaning up hazardous substances and for enforcing clean air and clean water laws. That is awful.
“The President’s budget is short-sighted, based on false assumptions, goofy assumptions, and is a cruel plan that perfectly reflects what Republicans in Congress have been trying to inflict on America for years. It’s important to note this because some Members are saying ‘oh well, it’s dead on arrival.’ Well, in the House, this budget is a step down the same road, and Mr. Yarmuth can attest to this, the same road to ruin advanced by years of House Republican budgets under Speaker Ryan and Chairman Price.
“Budgets which ransacked our investments in jobs, education and for hard-working families. Budgets which sought to hand massive new tax breaks to the rich by stealing from food stamps and slashing Medicaid. All of this to give a tax break to the wealthiest people in our country.
“The budget, a national budget, should be a statement of our national values. What’s important to us as a country should be reflected in how we allocate our resources. This budget fails to recognize that education is the greatest investment we can make in people reaching their aspirations and keeping America number one.
“And he also fails to recognize that nothing brings more to the Treasury that the education of the American people: early childhood, K through 12, higher education, lifetime learning. Nothing brings more money to the Treasury to reduce the deficit.
“So it’s a false economy, a dumb, it’s one of the dumbest budget moves – with stiff competition, mind you – but one of the dumbest budget moves they can make. President Trump’s budget shows that he does not value the future of our seniors, children and our working families and it should be rejected. Thank you.”