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LEGISLATIVE ALERT2/16/2007Reject the President's BudgetThe Senate gave final approval to a Continuing Resolution that will fund the federal government for the rest of this fiscal year. The President is expected to sign the legislation into law by the weekend.
The CR (H.J. Res 20) provides funding equal to FY 2006 with a few exceptions. Congress will now devote all budget attention to the debate over the FY 2008 appropriations.
Members of Congress will be home all next week.
Contact your Member of Congress while they are at home and urge them to reject the President's budget which cuts funding for vital programs for FY 2008. The most effective contact is to meet and talk to them in person.
ACTION REQUIREDYou can call to Make an Appointment at Home:- Call the Capitol switchboard at 202/225-3121 to be connected to your Member of Congress.
- Once connected, ask for their in-district phone number.
- Make an in-district appointment, or attend any town hall meetings or other event that they may be attending.
Or Email:- EMAIL your Member of Congress directly.
MESSAGEReject the President's Budget because:- It cuts Medicaid and under funds SCHIP (State Children's Insurance Program).
- It block grants foster care assistance instead of addressing the crisis of eligibility for IV-E assistance.
- It ignores the need to fund kinship care.
- It cuts funding for the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG).
- It cuts funding for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention.
BACKGROUNDMedicaid:
The President's budget proposes Medicaid legislative changes that will save $13 billion over five years and administrative changes that will save $12.7 billion over five years, for a total of $25.7 million in proposed Medicaid cuts.
SCHIP:
Though SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) is slated to be reauthorized, the funding levels proposed would under fund what it will cost to maintain the current health insurance coverage of children.
Kinship Care:
Once again, the President chooses to ignore the 6 million children that live with relatives and are not a part of the formal child welfare system, though these relatives are heavily relied upon to provide homes for parentless children. Twenty percent of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren live in poverty.
Social Service Block Grant (SSBG):
The budget cuts $500 million for SSBG, taking it from $1.7 billion to $1.2 billion. SSBG funds a range of children's and aging programs.
Juvenile Justice:
The President's budget calls for eliminating dedicated funding for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention.
For more details on the President's budget, please see CWLA's budget analysis.
© 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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