1 Why the Federal Budget Matters Deborah Weinstein Coalition on Human Needs March 20, 2008

2 What does the federal budget have to do with them? Melinda, her daughter Jen (age 4) and son Pete (age 7) seek help to escape violence – they’ve moved to your city. (fictional family) What are they seeking?

3 A place to live… They sought help finding a place to stay, but no help was available. With loans from family, they got into a small apartment – rent costs more than half their income. On one day in 2007, 7,700 requests for family violence services were unmet. Nearly ¼ of families pay more than half income on rent.

4 A job… Melinda was out of work for awhile, but did not qualify for unemployment benefits. Then she got a job, but because she couldn’t get full-time hours, it’s below poverty poverty = less than $1,467 a month, family of 3. Only about 35% of jobless qualify for UI benefits – in many places, leaving work to escape violence doesn’t qualify. Total hours worked down, earnings shrinking since Oct. 42% of children in single mom families are poor.

5 Shelter from the cold Melinda couldn’t afford to fill up her heating oil tank. A YW counselor told her about LIHEAP – she was able to get help. The family’s electricity was shut off. Heating oil up 33% since Feb. 2007; heating costs up 47% since LIHEAP provided $378 in FY08, down from $464 in FY million households disconnected last spring.

6 Nutritious food… Melinda sometimes skipped meals to make sure her children had enough to eat. Even with food stamps, it was getting harder and harder to afford food. 35 million nationwide suffer food hardships. Cost of food up 5.1% over last year – but eggs up 25%, milk up 17%, rice, pasta up 13%. Food stamps = $1 per meal per person.

7 Health care… Melinda was able to enroll Jen and Pete in Medicaid. She works, but has no health insurance for herself. Children more likely to have insurance than adults (but nearly 1 in 5 poor children uninsured). Of people with incomes of less than $25,000, nearly 1 in 4 uninsured.

8 Child care, Head Start, other services… Jen was in Head Start, but hours were cut so Melinda had to take her out. Family gets child care help. Pete has behavior problems – in new program offering services to children exposed to DV. 62% of Head Start programs have had to cut operations (inc. reduced hours). Lucky – only about 1 in 7 do. Boys who witness DV 2x as likely to grow up to be abusers.

9 Why does the budget matter? Sets total funding for: Housing, heating aid, emergency food, child care, Head Start, after school care, Violence Against Women Act, Social Services Block Grant, community health centers, Community Services Block Grant, K-12 education, job training, adult basic ed…

10 Examples of past cuts: Home heating aid (LIHEAP): only serves 16% of eligible, benefit down from $464 (’06) to $378 (’08). Child care cut 10% since 2005; 100,000 fewer children served from 2007 to Adult job training cut 12% since 2005; youth training cut 14%; 169,000 fewer served since Special education cut 5-10% since Adult education cut 12% since Federal work-study cut 10% since Housing for the elderly, disabled cut 9% since 2005.

11 Congress must begin to reverse past damage. Of more than 100 services tracked from FY 2005 to FY 2008, only 11 grew beyond inflation, and another 3 just kept pace with inflation. All the rest were cut: services that help people work, get health care, educate their children, avoid hunger or homelessness.

12 Investing in the right priorities means increasing the total for domestic appropriations. That means enough above inflation to allow more people to be served, and to be served better. That means enough above inflation so that important services like aid for veterans do not crowd out vital investments in our future.

13 Why does it matter, again? Essential services like Food stamps, Medicaid, children’s health insurance, child support, child care, unemployment insurance

14 Congress can set the right priorities in its Budget Resolution. Entitlement Programs: Reverse child support cuts. Place moratoria on harmful unilateral Medicaid regulatory cuts. Health coverage for children! – SCHIP. Fund Food Stamp improvements. Increase child care funding. All more important than more tax cuts for millionaires.

15 Another reason why it matters Revenues: enough to invest in needed services. Who needs it more? Melinda’s family, or, say, Top 400 taxpayers averaged $214m each in 2005 income, up from $173m in In mid-90s, top 400 had ½ % of national income; more than doubled 10 years later.

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17 The President cuts millionaires’ taxes, while slashing health, education, and other vital services. In 2009: $15b cut in domestic approps. $51b in tax cuts for millionaires. In 2012, average millionaire will get $162,000. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, OMB, Jt. Com. On Taxation, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

18 Priorities? For less than $10 billion, Congress could reverse human needs cuts proposed by the President and bring service levels back to where they were in FY One year of tax breaks for hedge fund managers and more deductions for the affluent costs $10.4 billion.

19 Priorities? Last year the President opposed providing 10 million kids with health insurance for $35 billion over 5 years. The cost of the capital gains and dividends tax break in FY 2009? $32 billion.

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21 Why you’re so important You can tell your Congressional delegation about the need and what to do about it. You can help encourage others to speak out too. You can help organize forums to show policy makers both the need and programs that succeed. You can write op-eds or communicate in other ways about growing need and about the services that help families.

22 Give Congress the courage to respond to the growing need! Thanks for beating the drum for change! If we work together, here and around the country, we’ll change the nation’s priorities.

23 Don’t be a stranger! Sign up for Coalition on Human Needs s: at Thanks for all you do!!