With opposition coming from every state in the nation, over 1,200 national, state and local organizations signed a letter circulated by the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) telling the Senate to vote against a federal budget that harms millions of Americans to give tax breaks to millionaires. The Senate adopted its version of the budget resolution for FY 2007 on March 16, after adding billions of dollars to restore some of the funds that would be cut by the President’s budget and the plan drafted by the Senate Budget Committee.
Represented on the letter are religious organizations, anti-poverty advocacy groups, think tanks, unions, human service providers, policy experts, and many other groups in every state. The letter says it is “simply wrong to sacrifice our children’s education, health care and housing for the elderly and for people with disabilities, child care for working families, and many other commonsense services … ” to pay for tax cuts tilted towards the richest one percent.

The success in attracting signatures shows the growth in the number of active and informed advocates who are letting their elected officials know that cuts in nutrition, health care, housing, education, and many other services are harmful and shortsighted. Last year, a similar letter received about 800 signatures.

“The outpouring of opposition to cuts in services needed by vulnerable families shows that more and more people across the nation want Congress to back the right priorities,” said Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition. “People understand that it makes no sense to cut education, nutrition, and other vital services so that the wealthiest among us can receive billions more in tax breaks.”

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