On March 1, new federal cuts will begin to take effect. If nothing is done, many hundreds of thousands of people will be hurt by across-the-board cuts to education, job training, home heating assistance, public health, and social services, to name only a few areas. You can see a sampling of the impact in fact sheets for every state and for the U.S. Connecticut Fact Sheet.
Such as: Up to 125,000 families and 100,000 formerly homeless people losing their housing (or having to pay much more), 600,000 young children and moms losing WIC nutrition aid, 70,000 children denied Head Start, nearly 76,000 people with disabilities losing Voc. Rehabilitation services, 373,000 adults and children with serious mental illness losing treatment.
These fact sheets provide powerful reasons why Congress should stop the mindless cuts. Your voice is needed. Click here for a simple way to be heard.
Background:
Remember the new year’s fiscal showdown? Congress acted at the last minute to replace two months of these cuts with a combination of revenues and other spending reductions. That’s why we’re now facing the March 1 deadline. (For a brief backgrounder, see CHN Human Needs Report, February 11.)
Stark Choices. The President and Senate leadership want new revenues from corporations and wealthy individuals to play a big part in replacing the mindless cuts. They – and we – don’t want to substitute other harmful cuts to Medicaid, SNAP/food stamps, or other vital programs. To those in Congress who say “no more revenues,” we must ask “Is protecting every single tax loophole that benefits corporations and high-income individuals a higher priority than preventing cuts that will affect health, education and job opportunities for millions of Americans?”
To those who would protect every Pentagon program, we must ask “Would you keep funding costly and outdated weapons and equipment while cutting job training, housing, college aid, and child welfare or mental health services?”
The public made clear in November and beyond that they believed people at the top should pay more of their share to resolve the nation’s fiscal problems. Because public opinion was so strong, Congress increased revenues. That public will is still there – a new poll commissioned by Americans for Tax Fairness shows two-thirds of voters say the richest two percent and large corporations should pay more in taxes, and oppose cuts in vital programs.
You can show that constituents not only hold those beliefs, but will tell Congress about them. Please send an email to your senators and representatives.
Thank You!
For more information: Coalition on Human Needs: www.chn.org
