Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District voted today against a measure aimed at implementing House Republicans’ budget plan that calls for deep cuts to vital services for middle-class families while protecting defense spending and tax breaks for the richest Americans.  The budget reconciliation bill cuts $310 billion over 10 years from non-defense spending in areas such as health care, food and nutrition assistance, and vital safety net programs for seniors, women, and children.

“Instead of offering a balanced plan to reduce our nation’s deficit, House Republicans once again make hard-working New Mexicans pay the price,” Congressman Luján said.  “In order to restore the American Dream and rebuild the middle class, we need a balanced approach that invests in our future by supporting innovation, strengthening education, and rebuilding infrastructure.  Now is the time to invest in our national labs and develop new groundbreaking technologies that could change the way we generate energy, keep our airports safer, and make our hospitals healthier.  In times like these, millionaires should be giving to charity, not getting it through more tax breaks.”

The House Republicans’ reconciliation bill replaces automatic defense spending cuts that they agreed to last year with cuts that will result in:

• Nearly 300,000 children losing free or reduce-priced school meals, on top of cuts to food aid at home for 22 million children;
• 1.7 million seniors losing “Meals on Wheels” and other home-based services; and
• 326,000 women not getting breast cancer screenings and 284,000 not getting cervical cancer screenings.

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