Nine Are Arrested During Sit-Down Protest at Capitol
Police arrested nine people who staged a noisy sit-down demonstration in the Capitol on Thursday to protest Medicaid changes in the Republican budget that would affect AIDS victims.
They were among hundreds of people from various groups who protested budget proposals being pushed through Congress that would curtail a range of programs, including Medicare and student loans.
The AIDS demonstrators sat in a restricted area adjacent to the House chamber and loudly chanted, “Health care is a human right. What we need is Medicaid.”
Earlier, police arrested one demonstrator inside the Republican National Committee headquarters during a protest by about 500 poor people opposing the GOP budget, which would carve $270 billion in savings from Medicare and more than $180 billion from Medicaid over the next seven years.
“This is a Republican holocaust,” said demonstrator Sharon Bush of New York. “We’re tired of them riding everything on the backs of the poor.”
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