Special interests, Wall Street, billionaires, Big Oil advance to Final Four while seniors, students, working families and clean energy lose big 

Washington (March 23, 2015) – With millions of Americans gripped by March Madness and the Final Four showdown on the basketball court, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) took to the Senate floor today to blast the Republican budget, which rigs budgetary games so that perennial favorites Wall Street, billionaires and Big Oil advance while the middle class, seniors and investments in science and education have no chance to win.  

“The Republican budget is the real March Madness, making winners out of Big Oil and billionaires while the clock runs out for seniors and hard-working Americans who are left to fend for themselves. Senate Republicans once again are trotting out their well-worn playbook to pick the winners and losers in our society and our economy. Special interests score big on tax breaks, Wall Street blocks regulation, billionaires take a bigger share of the winnings, and Big Oil remains undefeated. Meanwhile, seniors pay more for health care, working families pay more for energy, students pay more for college and clean energy companies cut more workers.

 

“This Republican budget removes eleven million families from Medicaid, including 400,000 seniors in Massachusetts alone. It forces millions of seniors, including 80,000 in Massachusetts, who receive Medicare to pay $1,000 more for their prescription drugs next year. It kicks nearly 900,000 families off of low-income energy assistance. This budget includes $660 billion in cuts over the next decade to federal programs that lift up the most vulnerable in our society, like food stamps, school lunches, and child nutrition programs.  This budget protects the $4 billion in subsidies to the oil companies, while killing the wind energy tax credit that puts 35,000 American jobs at risk.

 

“We need to reject this scheme and create a plan that is does not bust the budgets of families across our nation.”