US Senate passes budget bill slashing social programs

Vice President Dick Cheney cut short a trip to Afghanistan and the Middle East to attend the final proceedings. The vote was 51-50, with Cheney using his constitutional authority as president of the Senate to break the tie and pass the austerity measure.

The bill includes $40 billion in spending reductions over five years that come largely from major rollbacks in federally-subsidized student loans, the Medicaid health program for the poor, and welfare benefits.

The bill passed by the Senate was the product of a House-Senate conference committee, which reconciled separate bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate in November. The resulting bill includes most of the cuts in the original House bill. However, because the Senate version was amended slightly from the conference report, it must be voted on again by the House, either later this month or early next year, before being signed by the president.

In relation to the overall federal budget, the $40 billion over five years is minimal. It is less than one tenth of what the US government spends on the military alone every year. However, the cuts will have a major impact on some of the most vulnerable sections of the population. They are seen as an important step in the drive to undermine entitlement programs and all government spending not aimed at enriching the wealthy or expanding the military-police apparatus.

The blatant class character of government policy is highlighted by the fact that the budget bill is to be followed early next year with a tax-cutting measure worth $60 billion to $70 billion that will overwhelmingly favor big business and the wealthy.

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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/budg-d23.shtml