Protestors Visit Benishek's Marquette Office
Angry residents gathered at Congressman Dan Benishek’s Marquette district office this morning, with signs in hand.
They’re upset about a budget plan that Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin proposed last week.
About a dozen people urged Benishek to vote ‘no’ on the Ryan budget.
As the protestors see it, the budget proposal was written to benefit the wealthiest 1% of Americans at the expense of the other 99% — gutting Medicaid and Medicare while cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy.
Gayla St. Onge is a registered nurse, and she’s worried about how all this would affect her parents.
She says Medicaid and Medicare have seen several rounds of cuts in recent years, and she’s not sure they can endure more.
Staff at Benishek’s office said they don’t address policy issues at the district-office level, but they said they would pass along the protestors’ concerns to his office in Washington.
Congressman Benishek is in Washington this week, but a Washington–based staff member of his spoke with him and gave us the following statement:
“Dr. Benishek welcomes and encourages constituents to express their views on the federal budget debate.
Dr. Benishek believes representative democracy is all about citizen participation, so he appreciates constituent comments.
While Northern Michiganders may agree or disagree with parts of the proposed House budget plan, Dr. Benishek values an honest conversation on ways to reduce the federal debt and grow America’s economy.”
Posted by: Mike Hoey