State Rep. Fred Strahorn Votes against GOP's Anti- Middle Class Budget

COLUMBUS- The Ohio House of Representatives this afternoon approved a state budget that rewards the rich while continuing to hurt our schools and communities, and denies Medicaid expansion to hundreds of thousands of working poor and thousands of veterans across Ohio.  Following the vote, State Rep. Fred Strahorn issued the following statement:

“I am extremely disappointed that party politics came before the people of Ohio.  The exclusion of Medicaid is a continued attack on working and middle class families.  We had the opportunity to provide healthcare to 275,000 Ohioans, as well as create jobs, and my colleagues on the other side decided to do business as usual.  Continued cuts to our schools and local communities are only hurting our great state.

 “Medicaid expansion would have provided healthcare to thousands of Ohioans as well as created an estimated 28,000 jobs.  Instead the House budget includes cuts to 45 percent of our schools, which results in a loss of $291 million.

 “In this budget schools remain underfunded, higher education is neglected, the trust with local government remains broken, women’s health continues to be attacked, and an opportunity to improve the health of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans for less money is lost.”