Phillips: budget prioritizes millionaires, leaves middle- class families behind

State Rep. Debbie Phillips

COLUMBUS- Assistant House Minority Leader Debbie Phillips (D-Albany) slammed Thursday’s vote in the Ohio House of Representatives approving the state’s two year operating budget bill, Sub. House Bill 59.

Phillips represents the 94th Ohio House District, which includes Athens, Meigs, and parts of Vinton and Washington counties.

According to Phillips, the budget puts millionaires first, while raising taxes on the middle class and continuing to hurt our school and communities. The final budget fails to address Medicaid expansion for hundreds of thousands of working poor throughout Ohio

“This budget sets the wrong priorities for Ohio and demonstrates a profound failure of leadership by both Gov. Kasich and the legislative majority, favoring millionaires at the expense of the middle class,” Phillips said. “It forces government into the most private and difficult decisions a woman can face and provides more funding to the failed charter school and school voucher experiment at the expense of good public schools and innocent children across Ohio.”

Phillips said the budget takes funding cut from local communities two years ago and uses it to pay for a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Ohioans and fails abjectly in a simple, humane and business-backed effort to improve healthcare access.

“Medicaid provides for well-baby check-ups and for basic healthcare for children. It provides care in nursing homes, and in the homes of our seniors and disabled Ohioans through waiver programs,” Phillips said.

Calling on Kasich to help get the Republican signatures, House Democrats pulled a discharge petition before the session in an effort to move Medicaid expansion House Bill 176, directly to the floor for a vote.

Phillips said the expansion would cover 275,000 Ohioans, including 26,000 veterans and control costs by moving healthcare out of emergency rooms and into primary care doctor’s offices.

“Expanding Medicare would help small businesses control their costs and hire more people. The Governor says he wants the expansion and Democrats brought a discharge petition to force a vote on Medicaid. If Gov. Kasich really wants to get this done he should order us into session, and get it done. We should take the vote, not a vacation,” Phillips said.

cleverpeasants@gmail.com

Twitter @cleverpeasant