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Rally to Restore Balance to the Budget Debate

By James Colten
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) at a May news conference. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Jul 26, 2012
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A few weeks ago, members of the House spoke out against the House Agriculture Committee’s vote to cut SNAP benefits to working class Americans. On Wednesday, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) rallied on the Senate-side to restore balance to the budget debate and avoid sequestration in conjunction with a report on the effects of such cuts.

The premise of the current debate is that all the cuts have to come from the non-military, discretionary budget. Harkin reported that since we last had a balanced budget (Clinton-era), discretionary funds have risen 0 percent as opposed to a 73 percent increase in the Pentagon budget.

We have two sets of rules, he said. One set for the rich, and another set for the rest of America. This equals out to tax cuts for the rich and budget cuts for the poor and middle class.

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Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) at a May news conference. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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