Minnesota’s reps agree: Bush budget is bad news

President Bush released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2009 last Monday (you might have missed it with Super Duper Tuesday the following day), and not very many people are happy with what it contains. Minnesota’s congressional delegation could find very little positive to say about the proposal. Even staunch Bush supporter, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has some criticism to offer and Sen. Norm Coleman gave Bush some credit but backed away from supporting the proposal.

“It’s a meaningless document,” Rep. Betty McCollum, DFL-Minn., told The Star Tribune. “Congress will set a new course and determine next year’s spending priorities based on the real needs of the American people.”

Rep. James Oberstar, DFL-Minn., was equally critical. “The budget President Bush unveiled today promises to saddle our children and grandchildren with more debt, while offering fewer services to working families,” said Oberstar in a press release. 

“Cutting back on health care for the poor and elderly will only increase the numbers of uninsured and under-insured in our country,” said Oberstar. “There were 40 million uninsured Americans when President Bush took office; today, there are 47 million, and that number will grow even larger if we enact this budget.”

“Like the President’s State of Union Speech last week, the Federal budget released by President Bush… contains no new ideas, wasteful spending and irresponsible cuts to hard-working families who most need it,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, DFL-Minn., in a statement. “The President calls for $70 billion more for the war in Iraq, while pushing mean-spirited budget cuts that would slash over $12.5 million from Minnesota’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, while jeopardizing over 35,000 Minnesota residents in public housing.” Ellison continued, “Minnesotans are, like the rest of America, clamoring for change but not the kind of change that this President’s misplaced priorities budget contain.”

“From health care, to energy independence, to safety on our streets, this budget is out of touch with the values that I hear when talking to the people of Minnesota,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., told The Star Tribune.

While Sen. Norm Coleman said that the budget was a step in the right direction, he expressed concern over the cuts to programs aimed at low-income Minnesotans. “Clearly we need to take a hard look at entitlement spending,” he said in a press release. “I am concerned, however, that the reductions proposed by the President’s budget could result in diminished quality and quantity of healthcare for our most vulnerable populations…”

“At the same time, we need to be mindful of the impact of cutting programs that are crucial to Minnesotans,” he continued. “I am concerned about the proposed reductions in programs that put food on the table for seniors in need, keep impoverished families warm during the winter months, and help urban and rural communities. I am particularly disappointed that once again the Administration is seeking to undercut the farm safety net, which ensures that we maintain the safest, most affordable food supply in the world.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann, often loath to respond to requests for comment by non-right-leaning news outlets was candid about the Bush budget proposal during an appearance on Heading Right Radio.

Speaking of the Bush budget proposal she said, “It’s an awful lot of money. It’s $3.1 trillion. It’s a lot of money. I think the main thing I’m concerned about right now is that it seems like it’s too easy to spend other people’s money.”

Bachmann continued, “The greatest level of growth in the budget is with the entitlement [programs]. That’s really were we need to begin [budget cuts]. Eventually, down the line, we could be looking at bankruptcy. It’s far and away greater than any other aspect of the budget.”

(Actually, the greatest level of growth in the budget is defense spending at a 5.5 percent increase after inflation is taken into consideration, according to the Washington Post. So-called “entitlement programs” such as Medicare and Medicaid will take cuts under the Bush proposal.)

“President Bush released a budget that is nothing more than an announcement to bounce the biggest check yet,” said Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn.,in a press release. “This budget is more of the same fiscal mismanagement that has characterized his time in office.”

“We are all in this together, which is why I’d like to see a budget that puts people first,” continued Walz. “In times of economic downturn, our first priority has to be the people who are barely making ends meet and the President’s budget doesn’t subscribe to those values.We can do better.”