Congressman Ed Towns voted against a Republican budget plan that would slash a wide array of critical programs for low-income families, including health care, education, job training, and housing in order to fund a $1.35 trillion dollar tax cut that disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans. 

If the President and the Republican led Congress are successful in enacting their tax cut, the top 1% of taxpayers in America would receive an economic benefit that would be 1 and 1/2 times MORE than the size of the entire budget of the Department of Education.  This comes at the same time that the President under-funds the "No Child Left Behind Act," a comprehensive education plan, by close to $10 billion dollars. 

Some of the cuts that could result from this budget plan include reducing the number of Head Start slots for low-income children, aid to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, food stamps as well as school lunches for low-income children.  The plan would also cut Medicaid funding and restructure the program so that it would no longer guarantee health care coverage for 14 million people.

Towns strongly opposes these cuts to these vital programs.  He supported a plan that protects the Medicaid program and would provide an additional $10 billion to ensure that those hit especially hard by the recession can retain their health care coverage.  The Towns’ plan would also provide an additional $3.2 billion for education services while fully funding other critical socials service programs such as Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), housing assistance, and food stamps.  Congressman Towns also supported an additional $11.3 billion for childcare subsidies.  With this funding, an additional one million children could receive subsidized care, which would help low-wage working parents obtain or remain at their jobs.   The plan Towns supports can afford these spending items because it calls for a more responsible tax cut of $136 billion.  This tax cut would benefit all working families and create twice as many jobs as the President’s plan.

Although the Republican led Congress was able to pass their budget plan, they must still pass a separate tax cut package.  Since it is unclear how large of a tax cut they will be able to enact, it is not certain what programs will be cut and by how much.  Congressman Towns will continue to fight for a fair tax cut plan that equally benefits all Americans and for important social services that assist working families.