| The House leadership will continue to work hard to convince House members to vote for its morally backwards budget. House moderates will need to hear from us. In the words of Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches, “…we recognize that justice is hanging in the balance as this proposed budget, if passed, would hurt those who are most in need in our society: children, the elderly and those who live in poverty.” It would deny assistance to thousands of abused or neglected children in foster care. The five-year $600 million cut would mean less foster care assistance for grandparents or other family members who have stepped in to provide care for their relatives' children. The House budget also creates stricter licensing requirements to make it more difficult for relatives to qualify as foster caregivers. http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/fostercare051027.htm It would cut $730 million over 5 years from poor elders or people with disabilities. Poor seniors and people whose disabilities prevent them from working would be forced to wait longer to become eligible for SSI and then forced to wait longer for the benefits that are owed to them. http://www.cbpp.org/10-25-05wel.htm It would reduce child support payments by 40 percent by cutting funds to collect the money owed to children by absent parents. By cutting $5 billion over 5 years in federal child support enforcement funding, children will lose billions – rising to more than $24 billion over 10 years. http://www.clasp.org/publications/child_support_cuts.pdf It would mean 330,000 fewer children receive child care in 2010 than in 2004. Child care money for families leaving welfare for work will not be enough to cover inflation costs, yet work rules will be harsher, creating even greater need for child care. http://www.clasp.org/publications/house_tanfbill_childcare.pdf It would deny Food Stamps and school meals to at least 255,000 people in need by 2008. The average $1 per meal benefit will be eliminated for some families who left welfare for work. The bill would also make many poor and otherwise eligible immigrants wait 7 years - not the current 5 - to qualify for food stamps. And when they lose food stamps, 40,000 children will also stop receiving free school meals unless states adopt a complicated administrative procedure that many will reject. http://www.cbpp.org/12-5-05fa.htm It would make people needing Medicaid coverage pay more and get less. Many Medicaid recipients will have to pay more for their health care – premiums and co-payments – despite evidence that higher costs cause low-income families with children to go without needed care. States will also be allowed to restrict benefits. http://www.cbpp.org/11-10-05health.htm It would make students pay $5,800 more for their loans. The House budget cuts $15 billion from student loans, and student groups estimate the cuts will result in an average increase of $5,800 in students' loan payments. $50 billion in cuts that hurt vulnerable people.
Coming soon: $70 billion in tax breaks that mostly help the wealthy.
The wrong choices. We can turn it around - if we call our members of Congress!
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