MIL OSI – Source: US Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – Hillary Clinton’s Video Versus House Republican Agenda Millions of people have already viewed Hillary Clinton’s presidential announcement, “Getting Started,” since the video featuring hard-working families was posted yesterday. As voters watch the video and hear each of these Americans’ stories, they should know that House Republicans’ plan for the country would make it harder for virtually each of these individuals to achieve the dreams and goals they shared in the video. Whether on education, paycheck fairness or access to affordable health insurance, the House Republican agenda is diametrically opposed to the vision for hard-working families that the video outlines. “Hillary Clinton’s announcement video has clearly struck a chord with everyday Americans, and yet it couldn’t be at greater odds with the agenda House Republicans are pursuing,” said Meredith Kelly of the DCCC. “The video is just the first of what will surely be a study in contrasts throughout this election season – where Democrats up and down the ticket are standing up for everyday Americans, House Republicans are standing up for the wealthy elite and special interests.” See below for a side-by-side comparison of the video and the House Republican agenda:
| Video | House GOP Plan |
| “My daughter is about to start kindergarten next year and so we’re moving just so she can belong to a better school” | House GOP Budget Could Prevent Access To Head Start For More Than 157,000 Children. “More than doubles cuts to middle class investments starting in 2017. In 2017, the House Republican budget more than doubles its cuts to these investments, and the cuts grow even deeper after that. The budget hides these deep cuts in later years to mask their effects. But if non-defense discretionary funding were cut 12 percent below sequestration levels in 2016 – the cut the Republican budget would make in 2018 – it would mean the following compared to the President’s Budget: … More than 157,000 children would lose out on access to Head Start services.” [White House, Fact Sheet on FY16 GOP Budget, 3/17/15] |
| [in Spanish] “My brother and I are starting our first business” | House GOP Budget Cut Small Business Administration Budget By Over $1 Billion. “The Republican budget will have a broad impact on the federal government’s ability to support small firms. Over the ten year window, the Republican budget would decrease SBA’s budget by over $1 billion, and on average, by more than $100 million per year. The impact would be significant as it would have to cut capital, training, and procurement resources for small firms.” [FY 2016 Republican Budget: Short-Changing Small Businesses, March 2015]· SBA Counsels More Than 1 Million Small Business Owners, Supports More Than $35 Billion In Financing. “The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides loans, investment capital, training, and contracting opportunities to small firms across the U.S. The agency supports more than $35 billion in small business financing; facilitates access to over $80 billion in federal contracts; and counsels and trains over one million small business owners through a nationwide network of resource partners.” [FY 2016 Republican Budget: Short-Changing Small Businesses, March 2015] |
| “After five years of raising my children I am now going back to work” | 114th Congress: Zero Republicans Have Co-Sponsored The Paycheck Fairness Act. As of April 13, 2015, zero Republicans have co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act. “The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by closing loopholes in the law that have hindered its effectiveness in ending pay discrimination, and would eliminate certain unfair defenses for pay discrimination that are currently available to employers, prohibit retaliation against employees who discuss their salaries, and improve wage data collection.” The bill stalled in the House Committee on Education and Workforce. [HR 1619, introduced 3/25/15; The Leadership Conference, 3/27/15]FLASHBACK: Zero House Republicans Voted To Pass Paycheck Fairness Act On Three Separate Occasions. In 2013 and 2014, House Republicans voted three times against considering the Paycheck Fairness Act.· April 2014: Zero Republicans voted to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act. The previous question passed, 219-190. [H Res 544, Vote #169, 4/08/14] · May 2013: Zero Republicans voted to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act. The previous question passed, 230-198. [H Res 198, Vote #132, 5/07/13] · April 2013: Zero Republicans voted to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act. The previous question passed, 226-192. [H Res 146, Vote #97, 4/11/13] · Headline: “Paycheck Fairness Act Vote Blocked by House GOP.” [Huffington Post, 4/11/3] |
| “Every day we’re trying to get more ready and more prepared”“A baby boy – coming your way” | House Republicans Voted For A Full Repeal Of The ACA.In February 2015, House Republicans voted to repeal the ACA. “The House voted … to abolish the 2010 health care law in Congress’ first repeal vote of the year … The House has voted more than 50 times to roll back all or portions of the law.” The bill passed 239 to 186. [HR 596, Vote #58,2/3/15; CQ News, 2/03/15]· Vote Was Republicans 56thAttempt To Repeal Affordable Care Act. “In Tuesday’s repeal effort by House Republicans — their first of this Congress and their 56th overall — it became clear that they had succeeded at one thing: They had bored even themselves into a slumber.” [Washington Post, 2/03/15]· Repeal Could Deny Preventive Care Coverage, Including Prenatal Care, To 47 Million Women.“Beginning today, up to 47 million women may be eligible to get free access to preventive health care services as that provision of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act goes into effect … Already covered under the law are other free preventive services for women recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of doctors that advise the government on treatment guidelines. These include mammograms every 1-2 years for women over 40, cervical cancer screenings and prenatal care.” [CBS News,8/01/12] NWLC: House GOP Budget Would Revoke Improved Coverage For Maternity Care And Preventative Services, Would Allow Insurers To Treat Being A Woman As A Preexisting Condition. “The Price budget would: . . . Repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the tax credits that 5.4 million women currently use to purchase health coverage, and the Medicaid eligibility expansion that provides health insurance to millions more. The budget plan would also revoke improved coverage for maternity care and preventive services, including birth control, and allow insurance companies to once again treat being a woman as a pre-existing condition.” [National Women’s Law Center, 3/18/15] |
| “Right now I’m applying for jobs – it’s a look into what the real world will look like after college” | House GOP Budget Caps Pell Grants For Ten Years As Tuition & Other Costs Increase. “The booklet also makes clear that the plan contains big cuts in Pell Grants, which help children from families with modest incomes afford college. Although Pell Grants already cover a much lower share of college costs than they used to, the plan would freeze the maximum grant level for ten years even as tuition and room and board costs continued to rise, and then cut Pell Grants in other ways as well.” [CBPP, 3/17/15] |
| “I’m getting married this summer to someone I really care about” | FLASHBACK: House Republican Leaders Approved Wasting $3 Million In Taxpayer Dollars To Defend DOMA.“House Republican leaders have signed on to spend up to $3 million to keep defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, according to a copy of their newly revised legal contract obtained by The Huffington Post. […] On Jan. 4, Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Administration Committee, signed a revised contract with Bancroft LLC that increases the spending cap to $3 million to allow Bancroft attorneys to keep defending DOMA in various court cases. The revised contract also bears the signatures of Bancroft partner Paul Clement and Kerry Kircher, general counsel for the House of Representatives.” [Huffington Post, 1/15/13] |
| “I’m getting ready to retire soon” | Los Angeles Times: GOP Balances Budget By “Slashing Medicare And Other Safety Net Programs.” “House Republicans released a 2016 spending blueprint Tuesday that fulfills the GOP goal of balancing the budget within 10 years, but only by slashing Medicare and other safety net programs, while dramatically boosting military spending.” [LA Times, 3/17/15]House GOP Budget Turns Medicare Into A Voucher Program For Those Age 56 & Older. “The GOP-run Budget Committee estimates nearly $150 billion in savings by turning Medicare into a voucher program for anyone 56 years old or younger, an idea previously proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the former Budget Committee chairman. Republicans say their ‘premium support program’ would help control Medicare costs. It would not be implemented before 2024.” [Politico, 3/17/15]House GOP Budget Cuts Medicare By $148 Billion. “Price’s budget would cut Medicare by $148 billion through 2025. Starting in 2024, Medicare beneficiaries would choose from a range of options, including traditional Medicare and private coverage. The government would issue fixed payments directly to the plan.” [Bloomberg, 3/17/15] RSC Budget Would Turn Medicare Into Voucher Program, Raise Eligibility Age. “Similar to Price’s plan, the RSC budget would reform Medicare by 2020 by converting it to a premium-support system that would offer a range of coverage options to people born in 1955 or after. The plan would gradually phase in an increase in the eligibility age for those born in 1960 or after and would raise it by two months each year until the eligibility age reaches 67.” [The Hill, 3/23/15] RSC Budget Would Raise Retirement Age To 70 & Impose Chained CPI. “For Social Security, the RSC blueprint would eventually raise the full retirement age to 70 and would impose chained consumer price index (CPI) for Social Security benefit calculations. The proposal, which Obama had offered in previous budgets and then dropped, would result in lower benefits.” [The Hill, 3/23/15] |
| “I’ve started a new career recently – this is a fifth generation company, which means a lot to me” | House GOP Budget Proposed System That Shields Offshore Corporate Income From Taxation. “Price’s budget says that a broad overhaul of the tax code — lowering rates for individuals, corporations and small businesses alike, while scrapping a range of tax preferences — will give a jolt to the economy. But Price only specifically proposes to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, and move toward a system that shields offshore corporate income from U.S. taxation.” [The Hill,3/17/15]House GOP Budget Would Cut Trade Adjustment Assistance Program By Nearly $1 Billion Over Ten Years.“The Republican budget would cut TAA by nearly $1 billion over the budget period, dramatically reducing the ability of small businesses to access the trained labor force they need to compete globally. Based on Department of Labor data, this budget reduction would cause nearly 14,700 workers to go out without the training and assistance they need to reenter the workforce.” [FY 2016 Republican Budget: Short-Changing Small Businesses, March 2015]· TAA Program Provides Aid To Business Owners & Workers Impacted By Outsourcing. “Another initiative that is helping small firms fill their employment needs is the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. TAA provides aid to business owners and workers who have lost their jobs, or have seen diminished hours, wages, or work due to increased imports or shifts in production out of the U.S. Such retraining assistance is important as 33 percent of small business owners and chief executives surveyed by the Wall Street Journal and Vistage International, said they had unfilled job openings in 2014 because they could not identify qualified applicants.” [FY 2016 Republican Budget: Short-Changing Small Businesses, March 2015] RSC Budget Advocated Allowing Corporations To Defer Taxes On Foreign Operations. “The ability to defer United States taxes on their foreign operations, which some erroneously refer to as a ‘‘tax loophole,’’ cushions this disadvantage to a certain extent. Eliminating or restricting this provision (and others like it) would harm United States competitiveness.” [RSC Budget Proposal, 3/22/15] |
