Town Hall #3 - Trump, Congress, and the Budget: How it Affects You and Your Community
We Are For America – Town Hall #3 “Trump, Congress, and the Budget: How it Affects You and Your Community” Town Hall sponsored by We Are For America (WAFA)
Saturday June 10, 2017 Noon to 1:30 pm Dorothy Hart Community Center, 408 Canal Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
The bulk of the cost reduction is hits to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Much of the cuts in funding amount to a fraction of any “savings.”
Such cuts are penny-wise and pound foolish. Cutting Meals on Wheels and WIC saves a bit of money and increases expenses ten-fold from not feeding people who are too poor or immobile to buy food.
The Trump Budget proposes a devastating hit on our “first responder” Environmental Protection Agency. At Katrina, BP oil spill, and an earthquake in Virginia, EPA was there, providing service to citizens at risk.
The bulk of the savings is converted to a give-away to corporations and the wealthy
The “trickle down” economic theory being promoted is in a proven failure.
There is a $2 trillion accounting error by the White House such that is the budget is costs much more.
Huge budget cuts in health care will hurt the old, the poor, and the disabled especially hard.
There is a $600 Billion tax cut for the wealthiest Americans in the American Health Care Act plus an additional $800 billion cut for the top earners in the White House budget proposal. This is coupled with a $1.4 Trillion cut for medical care in these policies.
A Single Payer System can cover all currently uninsured legal US residents without spending more than we currently pay for health care, while reducing medical expenditures for 95% of American households.
PANEL:
Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) has served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 41st District, since 2010. Eileen has over two decades of experience in both the public and private sectors, working across party lines to make a difference in the lives of all Virginians. In the House of Delegates, Eileen is a member of the Transportation Committee, Finance Committee, and the Commerce & Labor Committee. She was appointed to the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability, Health Insurance Reform Commission, Joint Commission on Technology and Science, Virginia Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation. In November of 2015, she was elected Vice Chair for Outreach of the House Democratic Caucus. She previously served as the House Democratic Whip.
Joe Valenti will examine the effect of the proposed budget on Virginia's economy and communities. For over a decade, Joe Valenti has advanced the cause of economic fairness and inclusive finance. He has held research and policy roles at organizations including the U.S. Treasury Department, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and the Aspen Institute, and was a graduate intern for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee under Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT). From 2012 to 2016, he served on the Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission, including two years as chair. He holds degrees from Columbia and Georgetown universities and is a 2016 graduate of the Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute. He was recently recognized as one of Alexandria’s 40 Under 40 by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.
Debbie Brock will present an overview of how the federal budget is adopted, focusing on the relationship of the executive and legislative branches. She is a former Budget Analyst for the Federal Government. Additionally, she has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration and taught Public Budgeting and Public Policy Analysis at Virginia Commonwealth University Budget Policy.
Sharon Boyde will address effects of the Trump Budget on programs, services, and employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She is the Vice President of the Civil Rights Committee for EPA Local 3331 of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and has 37 years of service as an employee of the EPA.
Dr. Jay Brock is a past President of the Fredericksburg Area Medical Society; before opening his family physician practice in Fredericksburg in 1980, he was an assistant professor of Family Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Brock will discuss the effects of the proposed budget on health care, reporting views consistent with those of the 20,000-member group “Physicians for a National Health Program” in advocating for a single payer system. His April presentation at a recent educational forum, “The Affordable Care Act and the Future of Health Care in Virginia” was front page news for the newspaper of record for Fredericksburg, the Free Lance-Star.
MODERATOR: Matt Rowe serves on the Town Council of Bowling Green in Caroline County. A former Congressional candidate in Virginia’s First District, he currently serves as a member of the Democratic Party State Central Committee. He earned a BA in Political Science at Hampden-Sydney College and a Post Baccalaureate in Geographic Information Systems at Virginia Commonwealth University.
DETAILS: Members of WAFA and the general public have many concerns about the effects of the 2018 Trump Budget. This Town Hall is organized to inform the public and to answer our questions about the effects of the 2018 White House Budget Proposal.