Statement From AFGE President On Republican Party Platform

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. issued the following statement in response to the Republican Party's 2012 platform, which is scheduled for ratification by convention delegates tomorrow:

The Republican Party's 2012 platform comes as no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention. GOP leaders continue to promote the belief that government is to blame for all of the nation's ills and that the solution lies in taking a hacksaw to federal programs that everyone in this country relies on.

As this platform makes clear, a Romney-Ryan administration would arbitrarily downsize the federal workforce, dismantle Medicare and Social Security, outsource our national security to profit-driven private sector companies, reverse all of the steps that have been taken by the Obama administration to protect consumers from a repeat of the financial crisis that began under the Bush administration, and end vital regulatory functions that ensure the safety of our air, water, homes and worksites.

The GOP platform makes "government" out to be a dirty word, and that is a shame. Government employees run the best health care system in the world, treating returning soldiers at VA medical centers across the country. Government employees ensure millions of Social Security checks get processed and delivered to senior citizens every month. Government employees inspect meat, poultry and eggs as they move from the farm to your dinner table, so you know they're safe to eat. Government employees guard our borders and our prisons so the streets are safe, and they support our warfighters at home and abroad.

Without proper staffing and funding, these government services would simply cease to exist, leaving millions of Americans high and dry. It's hard for me to imagine a country that would turn its back on its citizens, but that's exactly what this GOP platform proposes to do.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 650,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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