First, a bit of good news—the tide is beginning to turn in the budget battle as last week the Senate
restored a number of cuts that had been proposed by the President.
The Specter-Harkin
amendment, which many of you made calls about, passed with an overwhelming 73-27 bipartisan vote and will provide $7 billion
for education, health, and human service programs to help bring funding back to FY2005 levels.
An amendment by Sen. Reed (D-RI) passed that will add over $3 billion in funding to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) also passed.
In addition, an amendment to restore the evenhanded
budget rules (known as PAY-GO) that helped balance the budget in the late 1990s came within one vote of passage and a number
of attempts to make deeper programs cuts were rejected.
While the final Senate budget resolution is still far
from ideal, this year’s improvements in the Senate represent real progress and a growing awareness that our national
priorities need reevaluating. This progress can also be seen in the debates occurring
among Representatives that have postponed the House’s work on the budget resolution until after this week's recess.
There is still a long way to go, particularly regarding tax policies, but let’s celebrate the small but growing number
of victories our combined advocacy is achieving!
HEALTHCARE
Although there isn’t much movement
in Congress toward addressing our nation’s healthcare crisis, there are important ways that advocates can remain engaged
and help move the country toward a real dialogue about healthcare for all.
As
part of the Medicare Prescription Drug legislation enacted in 2003, Congress created the Citizen’s Health Care Working
Group to provide for a nationwide public debate about improving the health care system and to provide recommendations from
this debate on how to provide every American with the ability to obtain quality, affordable health care coverage.
The activity of the Working Group got underway last year and continues to hold community forums, virtual
town hall meetings, and internet surveys, blogs and forums that YOU can participate in.
A strong response is needed to help ensure that the health care reform agenda moves forward and moves toward providing
health care for all!
ACTION NEEDED
There are a number of ways you can provide input to
the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group:
1. Answer 4 free-response questions about health care
online or print them and mail your answers to the Working Group. Available here. DEADLINE is April 30th.
2. Respond to a multiple-choice health care poll online
or by printing the survey and mailing your answers to the Working Group. Available here. DEADLINE is April 30th.
3. Share your experience with the current health care
system (and possibly receive follow-up from the Working Group!). Comments and pictures/videos/documents can be submitted here. DEADLINE is April 30th.
4. Participate in a community meeting. Meetings are
being held all over the country into early May to gather input from participants who represent the diversity of the U.S.
population. A list of upcoming meetings is available on the Working Group’s website.
5. Participate in a “Virtual Town Hall Meeting”
TOMORROW March 22 from 7-9pm EST.
This will be broadcast live over the internet and at 22 university campuses across the country. For a list of participating
campuses and directions for online participations click here.
6. Check out the Working Group website for more information and discussion opportunities!
If you need help in reflecting on messages that would
be most helpful in moving forward the health care reform agenda, read the resources available through the Making Health Care Work for All Campaign that was convened to maximize effective citizen input and impact the recommendations of the Working Group.
