April 3, 2014/Economy, News

FACTIVISTS: The Ryan Budget

image001

Yesterday, the House Budget Committee marked up the newest iteration of the Ryan budget. And guess what? It looked a whole lot like old versions of the Ryan budget, which hurts seniors, working families, students and people of color while protecting tax breaks for billionaires and gutting the safety net.

Here are some things that House Republicans on the committee unanimously voted against during the markup:

Comprehensive immigration reform. Rep. Tony Cardenas introduced an amendment that would create the economic infrastructure to support comprehensive immigration reform, and after paying lip service to the need for reform, Paul Ryan led his fellow committee Republicans in voting against it – while all Democrats supported the effort.

Raising the minimum wage. When an amendment that would express support for raising the minimum wage came up, Republicans doubled down on misinformation that most minimum wage earners were teenagers or spouses of breadwinners. Paul Ryan and all committee Republicans voted against supporting raising the minimum wage to $10.10.

Extending long-term unemployment insurance. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries introduced an amendment to extend long-term unemployment insurance, an effort which has bipartisan support in the Senate. All Republicans on the committee, including Paul Ryan, voted against it.

So this is today’s Republican Party: the same GOP that blocks immigration reform, blocks an increase in the minimum wage, and blocks aid to the long-term unemployed is also fighting tooth and nail to protect tax breaks for the wealthy, voucherize Medicare, and repeal the Affordable Care Act. The choice for voters couldn’t be clearer: between Republicans who are fighting for the rights of a select few while Democrats are fighting for opportunity for everyone.