| Michaud Chooses Principle over Party Loyalty, Votes Against Democratic Rules Package |
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| Tuesday, January 06 2009 | |
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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Mike Michaud voted against H.Res. 5, the rules which govern the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress. Michaud was one of a handful of Democrats to vote against the package. “The first vote of the new Congress asked members to support a package that includes a major provision that does not live up to the fiscal responsibility that the American people demand,” said Michaud. “All across my district families are being asked to tighten their belts, cut spending, and go without. It’s time that Congress learned to do the same.” By including in this rules package a provision to repeal the Medicare trigger, congressional leaders failed to deal with the long-term deficit faced by this program. The Medicare trigger is mechanism that states that if Medicare is financed by over 45% of general revenue, more than two years in a row, a plan must be presented as to how to make up the shortfall. If left with nothing to replace the Medicare trigger, spending financed by the taxpayers could increase uncontrollably. “We have seen Medicare’s costs steadily rise,” said Michaud. “As a result, an increasingly larger share of this program is being funded by general government revenue. Instead of responsibly dealing with this funding problem and ensuring the long-term solvency of Medicare, this issue was swept under the rug. At the end of the day, as this new Congress gets underway, new spending must grow our economy and put Americans back to work. It must also be responsible. Congress must once again return to following a budget, just like every Maine family must.”
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