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LEGISLATIVE ALERT6/21/2006 New Senate Budget Plan Would Harm ChildrenCall Your Senators Today!
Late last week Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) announced a new proposal to cut domestic spending. The Stop Over Spending Act (S. 3521) would achieve deficit reduction through automatic across-the-board cuts in mandatory spending such as Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, and Medicaid. These programs have seen recent cuts in their budgets and could hardly be viewed as sources of over-spending. Sen. Gregg plans to push his budget plan through the Senate Budget Committee and to the Senate floor in the next few weeks. The legislation emphasizes spending cuts and would not affect current or future tax cuts.
ACTION REQUIRED*Call your U.S. Senators and urge them to reject legislation that threatens cuts to Title IV-E and Medicaid. You can call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask to be connected to the offices of your Senators.
*Once you make your call, please send this Legislative Alert to others you know who care about children and families, and urge them to take similar action.
MESSAGE*Oppose the Stop Over Spending Act. It will force cuts to Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Medicaid, and would be harmful to children. We are NOT overspending on these programs and their budgets have recently faced cuts. What is needed is a real budget reform package that makes children a national priority. This proposed plan would only institute automatic spending cuts to programs that are not the cause of growing budget deficits.
More information about the FY 2007 federal budget is available on CWLA's website or please contact Tim Briceland-Betts, Co-Director of Government Affairs at bricebet@cwla.org, or 202/942-0256.
BACKGROUNDEven though the House and Senate have not been able to pass an overall budget plan for FY 2007, Sen. Gregg, as chair of the Senate Budget Committee, plans on pushing through his legislation that calls for automatic cuts to entitlement programs if deficit reduction targets are not met. Under the plan the deficit would drop from 2.75% of gross domestic product in FY 2007 to 0.5% in 2012 or the automatic cuts would be instituted. The automatic cuts would be in place for the next five years and would not require an act of Congress.
The deficit reduction scheme would protect tax cuts while exposing domestic spending to deep cuts. If tax cuts did cause an increase in the annual deficit, that would trigger automatic cuts in entitlements. Title IV-E Federal Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, and Medicaid are entitlement programs that provide essential services to millions of vulnerable children. These programs faced significant cuts as part of the Deficit Reduction Act passed in February and they have repeatedly served as the target of numerous spending reduction proposals in recent years. In addition, Social Security would be exempt from the cuts under Senator Gregg's plan.
© Child Welfare League of America. The content of these publications may not be reproduced in any way, including posting on the Internet, without the permission of CWLA. For permission to use material from CWLA's website or publications, contact us using our website assistance form.
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