WASHINGTON — Vermont’s sole congressman is opposing the Republican budget plan that was approved by a House panel last week.
The House Budget Committee budget is “irresponsible and very damaging to Vermont and to the country,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
The legislation, which passed after lengthy discussion Wednesday, would establish a framework for the government’s spending in the next fiscal year and going forward.
It includes just over $1.13 trillion in spending in fiscal year 2018 that is not mandated by existing policies. The largest share, $621.5 billion, would go to the Department of Defense. The remaining $511 billion would pay for other federal government operations.
The House GOP budget plan cuts benefits programs such as Medicaid and food stamps and creates new work requirements.
Meanwhile, the budget proposal would direct policy committees to find $203 billion in cuts over the next decade to spending mandated by current law.
The resolution leaves the door open for federal tax code reform and changes in health care policy — key parts of the Republican congressional agenda.
Many House Republicans have praised the budget because it would reduce the national deficit by $6.5 trillion over the next decade. The current deficit level is nearly $20 trillion.
“This is a plan that the entire House Republican Conference can support,” said committee Chair Diane Black, R-Tenn., in a statement. The proposal, she said, “will form the cornerstone of our legislative agenda” for the current Congress.
Democrats, including Welch, have been outspoken critics of the proposal. Sitting in his office the day after the panel passed the resolution, Welch blasted the Republican-led proposal.
“It’s a horrible, horrible budget,” he said.
Welch criticized the increase in defense-related expenditure package because it lacks a clear articulation of a national defense strategy even while providing much more money to defense purposes, he said.
“The design of this budget is to give a blank check to the military without giving any guidance to the military about what our national security strategy is,” Welch said.
Meanwhile, the proposal would make significant cuts to funding for domestic, non-defense programs. The reductions, he said, would have a big impact in Vermont.
Programs that serve Vermont communities, such as Meals On Wheels and Americorps Vista, would see big budget cuts.
Asked if there is anything in the budget he likes, Welch said he does not support “the fundamental direction of it.”
“It’s hard to know where to begin to find something I agree with,” he said.
Despite the committee’s action last week, the resolution has a long way to go. It would need to gain approval in the House, but a path forward is not yet clear, and there are divisions among Republicans.
Meanwhile, the Senate has not yet moved forward on a budget resolution. However, the upper chamber’s version could be very different from the resolution that came out of the House Budget Committee.
