WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, took to the floor today to lead the Democratic opposition to the Republican budget.

“The last thing we need is a budget reconciliation bill that throws 17 million Americans off of health insurance and denies nearly 3 million women the health care they need by defunding Planned Parenthood,” Sanders said.

At a time when the United States is the only major country that does not guarantee health care as a right, the proposed budget would gut the Affordable Care Act and continue the Republican “witch-hunt” against Planned Parenthood.

Sanders called instead for a responsible budget that reverses the massive transfer of wealth from working families to the top 1 percent, stops skyrocketing prescription drug prices and puts millions of Americans back to work. He questioned why the Republican budget does not provide paid family leave, raise the minimum wage to a living wage or make college affordable for all.

“The reason why the American people are angry and the reason why the Congress is so unpopular, is that the Congress is not addressing the real problems that are impacting their lives each and every day,” Sanders added. “At a time when the rich are getting richer, poverty is increasing, and the middle class has been in a 40-year decline, we need a budget that improves the lives of all Americans, not just the people on the top.”