The GOP budget hawks are at war against a balanced budget.
John Campbell, (R Ca-48), whose campaign mailers call him the "budget hawk," recently spent tax dollars to tell every voter in the 48th District that he would not spend money the government did not have. On May 18, 2006, our budget hawk voted in favor of the $2.8 Trillion GOP budget buster bill that should not surprise anyone who has watched the Congressional Republicans over the last five years.
Campbell's vote adds hundreds of billions to the record budget deficit and increases the debt limit by $653 billion to $9.6 trillion. It cuts $6 billion from Veterans' Healthcare, increases TRICARE costs, cuts $2.2 billion from education, eliminates virtually every job training program in the department of labor, and cuts $6.1 billion from Homeland Security. Now I know what he means by Budget Hawk - he is at war against a balanced budget.
Campbell's budget cuts essential program funding while cutting taxes for the top 1% of tax payers. For example, the new bill cuts benefits to:
1. VETERANS' HEALTHCARE - cuts funding for veterans' appropriated programs by $6 billion below the level that the Congressional Budget Office estimates is needed to maintain current services.
2. Significant increases in TRICARE costs for military retirees under 65. In fact, healthcare fees will triple for retired officers, double for retired senior enlisted personnel, and increase by 40 percent for junior enlisted retirees.
3. EDUCATION- cuts $2.2 billion from the Department of Education for 2007
4. JOB TRAINING - cuts to virtually every job training program in the Department of Labor;
5. SOCIAL SERVICES - cuts to social services programs in the Department of Health and Human Services. Over five years, this budget will cut the purchasing power for education, social services, and training programs by $45.3 billion.
6. HOMELAND SECURITY - cuts $6.1 billion from two of the main budget sources that finance homeland security activities - Community and Regional Development, and Administration of Justice. These budget functions fund port security grants to tighten the physical security of our ports, the Container Security Initiative to identify and inspect high risk U.S.- bound cargo, procurement of radiation portal monitors to screen for nuclear material in shipping containers and law enforcement terrorism prevention grants for first responders among other functions. Additionally, the Republican budget includes cuts that could reduce the size of the Army National Guard by up to 17,000 and includes a $39 million cut to the critical Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which is a program that helps prevent terrorists from obtaining loose nuclear material.
Some say that Mr. Campbell had to vote for the bill because he is new on the hill. Our district deserves a representative who will do what is right, let the consequences follow.