Second-term Congressman also votes to pass proposal from Congressional Black Caucus and will oppose Republican budget proposal tomorrow

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) today voted to support the Democratic alternative to the conservative Republican budget proposal authored by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI).

“The budget process is about setting priorities and identifying our values as a nation. Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress have decided to offer another reckless proposal that protects high-income earners, cuts important investments in our economic recovery, and jeopardizes the long-term security of our social safety net,” said Cicilline. “My top priorities are to put our country back to work and protect our economic recovery. That’s why I am proud to support the Democratic alternative that would responsibly reduce our deficit by making smart cuts and reforming our tax code while at the same time making important investments in education and workforce training, establishing a national infrastructure bank, and protecting the commitments we have made to seniors.”

In his annual budget proposal, former Republican vice presidential candidate and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) rehashed many of the same controversial policies that were found in earlier versions and pushed on the campaign trail last fall by the Romney-Ryan campaign – a tactic that even led conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat to describe it as “a step backward.”

In particular, the Ryan budget would repeal of the Affordable Care Act, end the Medicare guarantee as we know it, and maintain subsidies for Big Oil and tax loopholes that benefit companies that ship jobs overseas. In addition, it does nothing to replace the series of indiscriminate, across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.

The Van Hollen alternative that Cicilline voted to enact includes a series of commonsense proposals, including the implementation of the Buffett rule to ensure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share, a series of targeted spending cuts and tax reforms to reduce the deficit by $1.3 trillion over ten years, preservation of the Medicare guarantee for seniors, and full funding to protect the Affordable Care Act. It would also cancel sequestration – replacing these cuts with a balanced approach of tax reform and targeted spending cuts.

Cicilline also voted to support the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) budget proposal – a fiscal outline that would fully pay for the cancellation of sequestration and reduce the deficit by $2.8 trillion over the next ten years. The CBC proposal would also protect Social Security and Medicare, provide $50 billion to support Neighborhood Stabilization programs, and expand economic opportunities for middle class families by making significant investments in education, infrastructure projects, and job training programs.  Importantly, it also includes significant investments in job creation.

The House of Representatives rejected the Democratic and CBC budget proposals by votes of 165-253 and 105-305, respectively. Tomorrow, the House is expected to consider the Republican budget proposal, which Cicilline has pledged to oppose.