Again?

The following is an excerpt from Congressman Rush Holt's newsletter:

The federal budget is a moral document.  It reflects, in dollars and cents, our national priorities.

The annual budget resolution, although not really binding, lays out the plan for spending and taxation.  For the second year in a row, the majority’s budget focuses solely on cutting government programs – ultimately reducing these programs to their lowest level in half a century.  It fails to raise revenue to shrink the deficit, but provides even greater tax cuts for the wealthy.  It passed last week with no Democratic votes and the support of all but 10 Republicans.

At a time when the government should be supporting middle-class families, fostering job creation, and promoting education, research, and innovation that will help grow our economy over the long term, the budget resolution passed by the House fails to meet these goals and moves us in the wrong direction. 

You can learn more about this budget’s deep flaws in a series of brief videosthat I recently shared via YouTube.

I am especially troubled by the budget’s provisions to end the Medicare guarantee, to cut $800 billion out of Medicaid, to slash support for families who depend on nutrition programs and food stamps, and to cut the research that our economy needs to grow.  Even as the Republican budget greatly reduces the programs Americans depend upon, it does nothing to rein in runaway spending on Pentagon projects that do little to protect our national security.

At a time when economic inequality has risen to its highest level in decades, and after more than a decade of stagnant wages for middle-class Americans, we need a budget that strengthens our middle class, not weakens it....

For Israel to Be Secure, Israel Must Have a Lasting Peace

Many New Jerseyans from across the political spectrum visit me to talk about Israel.  Israel’s security and success are priorities for our nation and for me.  What I hear from constituents is a fear for Israel’s future.  Some frame it in terms of the threat from Iran, which is real.  Others focus on what they view as a long-term threat to Israel’s survival:  a stalled peace process.  The U.S. is missing an opportunity to secure Israel’s future if we fail to reengage on the peace process, a point I have made several times to President Obama and administration officials.  For Israel to be secure, Israel must have a lasting peace with her neighbors.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress