In the on-going battle to eliminate Medicaid and Medicare program reductions, Democrats in Congress have come to an agreement on a fiscal year 2009 budget resolution. (Kaiser Network)
The $3.3 trillion budget resolution rejects President Bush’s proposed spending cuts for Medicaid and Medicare. Bush seeks to reduce spending on these programs by $195 billion. While both houses may pass the resolution, it may not survive a presidential veto. From the report:
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said that Democrats should not have rejected the reductions in spending for Medicare and Medicaid proposed by Bush. Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries should pay higher premiums for the prescription drug benefit, as Bush proposed, Gregg said (New York Times, 5/14). Deputy White House Budget Director Stephen McMillin also criticized the agreement, which he said would increase spending, “avoid hard choices on entitlements” and seek to “keep taxes on Americans as high as they can be” (Washington Post, 5/14).