Failure to take a position comes less than a month after breaking with party and voting to shut down the government

INDIANAPOLIS – Congressman Messer’s irresponsibility on government spending policy continued this week, as he remained silent on President Trump’s budget proposal less than a month after breaking with party leadership and voting against a crucial government spending bill.

As the dust falls from the release of the Trump Administration’s budget on Tuesday, nearly every Republican has made their stance clear on the document, with a surprising number struggling to embrace its draconian cuts. But while his likely primary opponent, Congressman Rokita, has embraced the budget and the “tough decisions” it contains, Congressman Messer has yet to weigh in. Congressman Messer has commented on one specific proposal in the budget closing a loophole in the Child Tax Credit—however, he’s managed so far to stay silent on the overall plan.

The budget Congressman Messer has been keeping quiet on doubles down on an expensive military ramp-up at the expense of domestic programs and initiatives aimed at helping the less fortunate. It also contains tax cuts worth nearly $6.2 trillion over 10 years, which would largely flow to the wealthy. In turn, the budget cuts nearly $1 trillion from safety net programs over the next ten years, including $193 billion from food stamps and nearly $800 billion from Medicaid.

Congressman Messer’s surprising silence comes only a few weeks after an earlier shocking move, when he voted on May 3 to shut down the government. Despite belonging to congressional Republican leadership, Congressman Messer, with little explanation, broke with his party and voted against a bill funding the government through the end of September. Congressman Messer still has provided little explanation for his vote.

“Congressman Messer has tried to leave as little daylight as possible between himself and President Trump, but now that the Trump Budget is out, he’s nowhere to be found,” said Will Baskin-Gerwitz, Senior Media Strategist for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Congressman Messer’s constituents deserve to know where he stands on this awful budget and its massive cuts. It’s time for him to stop hiding, show some leadership and tell Hoosiers where he stands.”

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