Markey: Romney-Ryan ticket would cut Big Bird to pay Big Oil

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said if the Republican presidential ticket wins in November, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would “take an ax to PBS.”

Markey’s comment Wednesday came in response to a Forbes magazine article wherein GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney laid out his budget priorities, which included eliminating federal support for the Public Broadcasting Service.

“A Ryan-Romney ticket buys admission to a budget match-up where Big Oil wins and Big Bird loses,” Markey said in a statement. “In a budgetary blow to children and parents everywhere, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would take an ax to PBS while feeding billions in taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil companies with a silver spoon.”

Markey serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on telecommunications and is the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Last year, when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) — now the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee — released his budget plan, Markey criticized Ryan for proposing cuts to PBS while preserving oil subsidies for big business.

“Congressman Ryan’s budgets protect $40 billion in subsidies for the most profitable oil companies on the planet but would put an end to Elmo’s World,” Markey said Wednesday.

Romney announced his selection of Ryan as a running mate last week, sparking praise from the right and jeers from the left.

---