May 11, 2012 08:25 PM UTC

Coffman Votes for Republican Budget that Cuts Veterans' Benefits, Workforce Training and Support

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• by: ColoradoFairShare

Late yesterday, Mike Coffman voted for yet another Republican budget that hits Aurora’s working families very hard. Coffman voted on a budget plan that would slash assistance for low-income workers and even cuts veterans’ benefits.

The Republican budget Mike Coffman supports hurts Aurora families in a number of ways, including:

• Cuts employment and training programs for SNAP recipients by 72 percent, making it harder for low-income households that are unemployed obtain jobs.  This could include places like the Adams County Workforce Center in Aurora and the people who go there looking for work.

• Cuts $33 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The cuts would affect every SNAP household.  Some 2 million individuals, disproportionately working families and seniors, would lose SNAP entirely. The remaining 44 million individuals who receive SNAP would see their benefits cut.

• Cuts to essential services for veterans, like nutrition programs and mental health services, that will devastate struggling veterans and military families who are trying to get back on their feet. According to VoteVets.org, the Republican Budget cuts $11 billion from veterans spending.

Coffman’s constituents protested the nightmare Republican budget at the Adams County Workforce & Training Center in Aurora Wednesday morning. According to David Bouchey, a former investment analyst who lost his job, “This workforce center is where I came for training and counseling and to use the Internet. People rely on this place for help finding employment. How Mike Coffman votes will tells you whether he’s sticking up for us or standing up for the 99%.”

Rachel Castleberry, 22, from Aurora was another one of Coffman’s constituents speaking out against the nightmare Republican budget. “I’m looking for work, and it’s not that I don’t have skills,” says the vocational school graduate.  “I also have school loans. If this budget passes, it’ll make it harder for my family and people like me to find jobs. People need to call Mike Coffman and tell him not to support this.”