Published March 2007 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd A Federal Budget That's Good for West Virginia After six years of federal budgets devised to favor the wealthy, starve social initiatives, and fund a disastrous and costly war, the new Democratic majority in the Senate has passed a budget more in tune with West Virginia's priorities. The Senate budget approved recently invests 25 times more than the Bush Administration proposed for children's health care, providing up to $50 billion in medical services over the next five years for our children most in need. The budget also increases funding for education by $6 billion above the White House plan, invests $43.1 billion in medical care for our veterans, and protects the Medicare and Social Security trust funds. Instead of lavishing several more large tax breaks on those who are already financially secure, the budget passed by the Senate targets relief for working middle class families. Working families are the heart and soul of America, and in recent years they have been feeling pressure from all sides. This new budget reaches out to those families. The budget also strives for some degree of fiscal responsibility, reinstating a "pay-as-you-go" rule that includes both spending programs and tax cuts. West Virginians are fed up with the runaway deficit spending that has been a hallmark of the Bush Administration. This budget cuts taxes for the middle class and contains no new tax increases. Revenues are raised by cracking down on tax cheats, closing tax loopholes, and making it harder for companies to hide money in secretive offshore accounts to evade taxes. The impact of this budget on heath care in West Virginia and across the country is significant. Our health care system is in crisis. As many as 46 million Americans -- including 275,000 West Virginians -- are without any health insurance. As a nation, we cannot continue to close our eyes to this reality. The Senate budget begins to make the investments to ensure access to health care for all Americans. Finally, the Senate has passed a budget that makes good investments in health care, education, veterans, and other sorely neglected priorities. America's fiscal burden has been balanced on the backs of the middle class for far too long. The budget recently passed by the Senate goes a long way toward acknowledging that the days of comforting the comfortable must come to a close. March 28, 2007