December 2005

 

One of the key remaining tasks for Congress this year is the completion of its work on the federal budget, including two final appropriations bills (Defense and Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education) and reconciliation legislation that would make significant cuts to mandatory spending programs for the first time since the mid-1990s (for a refresher on the federal budget, click here). 

 

Budget Reconciliation

 

Since the House and Senate passed their respective budget reconciliation spending cut packages before leaving for Thanksgiving break, House and Senate Republican leaders and key staff members have been meeting to try to resolve the significant differences between the bills.  The Senate version makes roughly $35 billion in cuts, but for the most part avoids negatively impacting program beneficiaries. The House version, however, includes over $50 billion in cuts that will take away food stamps, health care, and other critical benefits for low-income and vulnerable Americans and is particularly harmful for children.  For a detailed analysis and comparison of the House and Senate bills, please visit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

 

No agreement has yet been reached between the House and Senate, but given the nature of the House provisions, a compromise will mean bad news for struggling families across the country, especially as food banks and other local service providers are reporting that they have insufficient resources to meet current needs.  It is also important to note that at the same time these cuts are being pushed, Congress has also passed extensive new tax cuts, primarily benefiting the most affluent, that will erase the “savings” from critical programs. Once again, the vote on the budget comes down to choices and priorities – will the common good and the needs of the people who are poor be lifted up by our leaders or will the voices of money and power continue to dominate?

 

As people of faith, we are challenged to “Speak out, judge righteously [and] defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:9).”  A budget that denies vital assistance to the vulnerable while further enriching the wealthy does not meet the moral criteria that the National Advocacy Center and other faith groups have lifted up from the beginning of the budget process and we will continue to demand better of our leaders.

 

Appropriations

 

Although further along than at this point in previous years, Congress has once again missed the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year deadline for the completion of the annual spending or appropriations bills that fund discretionary programs in Congress.  Still outstanding are the two largest appropriations bills, Defense (which accounts for over ½ of the discretionary budget) and the largest social services bill, Labor-HHS-Education.  In mid-November, the Labor-HHS bill hit an unexpected snag when 22 Republicans joined all Democrats in voting down the conference report that had been negotiated by Republican leaders from the House and Senate.  Many members were upset over the overall low funding level of a number of programs and the loss of members’ “earmarks” or special projects that are often included in spending bills. House and Senate leaders hope to renegotiate the Labor-HHS bill before the end of the year, but the funding levels for social services programs are unlikely to improve given the given the low total appropriations ceiling set by the congressional budget resolution earlier this year.  For many programs such as child care assistance, Head Start, and job training, this will be the fourth consecutive year of cuts and flat funding.

 

Another concern is the threat of an across-the-board cut to all non-defense discretionary programs that would be attached to the final appropriations bill of the year (most likely a bill combining Defense and Labor-HHS) – ostensibly to help offset the costs of hurricane relief.  With funding levels for programs already 2% (on average) below last year’s levels adjusted for inflation, the across-the-board reduction would cut deeply into critical services.  Inadequate funding for Section 8 Housing has advocate estimating that some 20,000 vouchers will be lost – before the additional cut. In addition, the combined effect of the across-the-board cut and earlier budget cuts would mean that:

 

• Community Development block grants would be reduced a total of $777 million, or 15.7 percent;
• Children and Families Services Programs (which includes Head Start) would be reduced by $350 million, or 3.8 percent.  Head Start itself would be cut 2.8 percent, eliminating Head Start slots for about 25,000 low-income children

These cuts combined with the budget reconciliation cuts demonstrate the need for ever greater advocacy for more just budget priorities and deeper reflection about how the decisions about government and revenue impact those most in need and the well-being of our nation as a whole.

 

For More Information

 

Previous Budget Updates:

 

Budget Reconciliation Update

Katrina, the Budget, and National Priorities

 

Faith Statements on the Budget:

 

Statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Latest Letter from the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs

Statement from Mainline Protestant Leaders