Dear Representative:
On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I am writing to urge you to vote against the Republican FY 2015 Budget Resolution (H. Con. Res. 96), scheduled for floor consideration later this week. Like previous budget proposal written by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, this budget resolution would cut taxes for millionaires and corporations that send jobs overseas, and pay for those tax cuts by cutting programs that serve working people, the middle class, and low-income families.
H. Con. Res. 96 would waste enormous amounts of money on tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. It calls for lowering the top marginal individual tax rate from 39.6% to 25% and give millionaires a tax cut of at least $200,000 per year. It calls for reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, which by itself would reduce federal revenues by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
The Ryan budget calls for a “territorial tax system,” which would eliminate U.S. taxes on the offshore profits of corporations that send jobs overseas. In this way, Ryan would actually increase the tax incentive for multinationals to send jobs overseas. At a time when corporate tax revenue as a share of the economy is lower than it has been in more than half a century and many Fortune 500 companies are paying no taxes at all, these tax cuts are wasteful and irresponsible.
H. Con. Res. 96 would pay for these wasteful tax cuts for Wall Street and the wealthy by gutting programs that benefit working families, including low-income families. The Ryan budget would cut education, research, infrastructure and other critical investments by 30 percent over 10 years, higher education by $260 billion over 10 years; K-12 education by $85 billion; and Medicaid by $732 billion. H. Con. Res. 96 would cut transportation investment by $52 billion in FY 2015 alone. The Ryan budget would also turn Medicare into a voucher program, raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67; and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), 69 percent of Ryan’s budget cuts would come from programs that serve people with low incomes, including health assistance, food programs, and college affordability.
The Ryan budget caters to the needs of the privileged, not working families. It does nothing to extend unemployment benefits, increase the minimum wage, or raise labor standards for everyone who works in America through comprehensive immigration reform. And it puts veterans’ health care at risk of a $146 billion cut.
The budget cuts in the House Republican budget would slow down economic growth as our economy is still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the Ryan budget would cost 3 million jobs in FY 2016. The alternative budgets offered by Ranking Member Van Hollen, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus represent a far more balanced approach than the fiscal framework advanced by Chairman Ryan.
H. Con. Res. 96 is essentially a Robin Hood budget. It steals from the many to reward the wealthy and privileged few. We urge you to vote against it.
Sincerely,
William Samuel, Director
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT