West Hudson Valley News

WASHINGTON, DC –  In a speech on the House Floor, Congressman Pat Ryan railed against an extreme bill that would cut funding for all discretionary programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Meals on Wheels, Head Start, the State Opioid Response Program and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

“In combat, it was my sacred duty to make sure we left no one behind. I stood today and spoke against this extreme bill because it does the exact opposite. The cuts in this bill are cruel and would have catastrophic consequences for the Hudson Valley families I proudly represent,” said Representative Pat Ryan. “It will mean more hungry kids, seniors unable to access their Social Security benefits, and extended delays at VAs across the country. I will continue fighting to protect my constituents from harmful cuts and will work every day to deliver relief. 

The extreme debt ceiling resolution will, in New York alone:

• Threaten Medicaid coverage for 1,287,000 people
• Strip food assistance from 54,000 people
• Eliminate preschool and child care for 17,000 kids
• Make college more expensive for 397,000 students
• Increase housing costs for 67,300 people
• Cut at least 330 rail safety inspection days
• Remove at least 5 air traffic control towers 
• Raise lifetime mortgage costs for the typical homeowner by $81,000

Nationwide, the legislation will:

º Slash $30 billion in funding for veterans, leading to reduced veterans’ access to care, fewer staff to process claims, longer wait times for benefits, less support for national cemeteries, weakened VA cybersecurity and telehealth services, and a further deteriorated VA infrastructure. VA Secretary McDonough says the cuts could mean a potential reduction of 30 million healthcare visits for veterans and the loss of over 81,000 VA employees providing benefits to veterans.
º Threaten Meals on Wheels for more than 1 million seniors. For many of these seniors, these programs provide the only healthy meal and social interaction they receive on any given day.

º Raise housing costs for over 630,000 households, including 190,000 households headed by seniors and 50,000 veterans.

º Scale back rail safety inspections, resulting in 7,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year alone, and 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually—enough track to cross the United States nearly 10 times.

º Delay cancer and Alzheimer's research at the National Institute of Health

Undermine border management and drug interdiction at the Department of Homeland Security. The entirety of Representative Ryan’s floor speech can be seen here.

Original source can be found here.