Decries Cheney as “Scrooge” for Tie-Breaker on Heartless Budget Bill

Following Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote to pass the budget reconciliation bill in the Senate today, People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas had the following statement:

“This is the most heartless piece of legislation to pass Congress in many years. The idea that just days before Christmas, Congress would vote to cut Medicaid health care funds for children in order to pass more tax cuts for the wealthy simply boggles the mind. So much for compassionate conservatives. And it’s not just children. The deep cuts in this bill will take away health care, child care, foster care, child support enforcement, and student loans from low-income and middle class families.

“Vice President Cheney played Scrooge when he cast the tie-breaking vote and delivered a truck-load of coal for America’s seniors, children, students and people with disabilities. Unlike Scrooge, who finally saw the light, the Vice President and the Congressional Republican leadership are sticking with policies that jeopardize the most vulnerable among us to further line the pockets of the wealthy. It’s unconscionable.”