Thursday, May 26, 2011

Broad Civil Rights Coalition Lays Out Plan For 2012 Budget

Praise be, at last an enormous coalition coming together to

fight for the rights and needs of regular folks – actually,

the biggest one in my memory. Blessed are the organizers.

It's one to save, and Join!  -Ed

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Portside Moderator: moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG

 

Broad Civil Rights Coalition Lays Out Plan For 2012

Budget

 

Minoroty News May 25, 2011

 

http://www.blackradionetwork.com/broad_civil_rights_coalition_lays_out_plan_for_2012_budget

 

WASHINGTON

 

A coalition of 117 national civil rights and civic

organizations has sent a letter to senators

establishing five principles for ensuring that the

Fiscal Year 2012 budget and debt limit deals address

the nation's debt in a fair, equitable, and responsible

manner.

 

In the letter, the coalition expresses concern about

the inadequacy and unfairness of current budget

proposals, stating that:

 

"[Congress].has the potential to either improve our

overall economic situation or make matters even worse.

Some of the proposals that we have seen to date are

overly simplistic and would, in reality, do little to

solve our budgetary problems. Others are simply

draconian."

 

The letter lays out five principles that the coalition

urges the Senate to follow as budget negotiations

unfold:

 

    - Congress must reject global federal spending caps

    or entitlement caps;

 

    - Any deficit reduction agreement, as well as any

    budget enforcement mechanism, must rely at least as

    much on revenue increases as on spending cuts;

 

    - The burden of deficit reduction must not be borne

    by low- and moderate-income individuals;

 

    - Congress must reject any effort to impose a

    Constitutional balanced budget amendment; and

 

    - Congress must protect investments that are vital

    to our nation's economic advancement.

 

"Our coalition understands that deficit reduction is an

important long-term goal for the nation," said Nancy

Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership

Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "But it cannot be

accomplished without putting revenues on the table.

Otherwise, the burden of reducing the debt will be laid

at the feet of low- and moderate-income Americans and

jeopardize a still-sluggish economic recovery."

 

The text of the letter with a full list of its

signatories is below.

 

COALITION STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR FY 2012 BUDGET

AND DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS

 

Dear Senator:

 

The undersigned 117 organizations represent persons of

color, women, children, low- to moderate-income

workers, people with disabilities, consumers, elders,

people of faith, English language learners, LGBT

people, educators, and many other Americans. Together,

we have formed a coalition that is extremely concerned

with the ongoing state of negotiations over the Fiscal

Year 2012 budget. We write today to present you with a

list of principles that our coalition believes are

essential to address as the budget discussions move

forward.

 

As Congress focuses attention on reducing our federal

budget deficits, it has the potential to either improve

our overall economic situation or make matters even

worse. Some of the proposals that we have seen to date

are overly simplistic and would, in reality, do little

to solve our budgetary problems. Others are simply

draconian.

 

As Congress continues its negotiations over the debt

ceiling and the FY 2012 budget, we urge you to adhere

to the following principles:

 

    Congress must reject global federal spending caps

    or entitlement caps. The Corker-McCaskill proposal

    limits spending to 20.6 percent of GDP, and would

    require massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, Social

    Security, and other programs that meet critical

    needs of low- and moderate-income people and

    provide vital economic security for millions of

    Americans. In fact, under the Corker-McCaskill

    caps, federal spending on essential programs would

    be cut roughly as much as the recently-passed House

    Republican budget by the end of this decade. At the

    same time, by focusing only on spending, global

    spending cap proposals would protect tax breaks for

    millionaires and tax subsidies for corporations.

    Any cap on mandatory spending should be opposed. In

    addition, Congress should reject multi-year

    appropriations caps that force harsh reductions in

    domestic/human needs services.

 

    Any deficit reduction agreement, as well as any

    budget enforcement mechanism, must rely at least as

    much on revenue increases as on spending cuts. If

    revenue increases are not included, deficit

    reductions will have to come from spending cuts

    alone, requiring cuts similar to those in the House

    Republican (Ryan) budget proposal, and restricting

    the federal government's ability to respond to

    economic downturns and limiting economic

    opportunity. That, in turn, would increase the

    likelihood that the fragile recovery will falter

    and could result in another recession. Related to

    this, any budget enforcement mechanism must include

    an automatic waiver during economic downturns or

    periods of unusually slow economic growth.

 

    The burden of deficit reduction must not be borne

    by low- and moderate-income individuals. As our

    nation's economy continues to struggle toward full

    recovery, unemployment remains unacceptably high,

    and there is a dire need to put people back to

    work. As a result of the housing crisis, countless

    numbers of Americans have lost their most valuable

    asset, forcing them to start their climb up the

    economic ladder all over again. A large aging

    population is gradually leaving the workforce and

    will become increasingly reliant on the promises

    made, decades ago, by programs such as Social

    Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Proposals such as

    the House-passed Republican budget or the Corker-

    McCaskill caps would harm those Americans precisely

    when they need help the most. Other vital services

    and programs, such as food stamps (the "SNAP

    Program"), education, Head Start, child care, jobs

    programs and low-income housing would also face

    drastic cuts under these proposals. Any budget plan

    must protect low- and moderate-income people and

    must not make programs that support them subject to

    automatic cuts if Congress fails to meet budget

    targets. Indiscriminate cuts to these programs will

    jeopardize the health, economic security, and

    education of millions of Americans.  We will fail

    to get the economy back on track, and an even

    heavier burden will fall on states that are already

    struggling to meet the needs of vulnerable

    populations.

 

    Congress must reject any effort to impose a

    Constitutional balanced budget amendment. Some

    members have proposed an amendment to the

    Constitution that would require a balanced budget

    every year, regardless of the state of the economy.

    This is an extremely draconian and unwise proposal

    that would require the largest budget cuts or tax

    increases precisely when the economy is at its

    weakest, tipping a struggling economy into a

    recession and keeping it there for a protracted

    period of time. It would also require massive cuts

    to vital programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. It

    should be resoundingly opposed by lawmakers as a

    free standing proposal or as an element of raising

    the debt ceiling.

 

    Congress must protect investments that are vital to

    our nation's economic advancement. Some proposals

    would gut badly-needed investments in our public

    infrastructure, education and job training,

    scientific research and development, and other

    programs that develop and bolster the

    competitiveness of American businesses. These cuts

    are being proposed at exactly the wrong time:

    unemployment remains high, investment in the U.S.

    economy is currently at its lowest level in four

    decades, and productivity growth is lagging far

    behind previous recoveries from economic recession.

    If there is one point on which all economists can

    agree, it is that investment - in infrastructure,

    research and innovation, and worker productivity -

    is absolutely essential to getting people back to

    work in the short term and ensuring that our

    economy grows in the long run.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

9to5, National Association of Working Women

 

AFL-CIO

 

All Education Matters

 

Alliance for Retired Americans

 

American Association of People with Disabilities

 

American Association of University Women (AAUW)

 

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)

 

American Federation of State, County and Municipal

        Employees (AFSCME)

 

American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

 

American Network of Community Options and Resources

 

The Arc of the United States

 

Asian American Justice Center, a member of the Asian

    American Center for Advancing Justice

 

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal

Nurses

 

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

 

Campaign for America's Future

 

Campaign for Community Change

 

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

 

Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)

 

CFED, Corporation for Enterprise Development

 

Children Now

 

Children's Defense Fund

 

Cities for Progress, Institute for Policy Studies

 

CLASP

 

Coalition on Human Needs

 

Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

 

Committee for Education Funding

 

Communications Workers of America (CWA)

 

Community Action Partnership

 

DÄ"mos

 

Direct Care Alliance

 

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund

 

Easter Seals

 

Equal Justice Society

 

Families USA

 

Family Equality Council

 

Farmworker Justice

 

Food Research and Action Center

 

Friends of the Earth

 

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

 

Health & Disability Advocates

 

Health Care for America Now

 

International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and

    Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)

 

Japanese Americans Citizens League

 

Jewish Funds for Justice

 

Jewish Labor Committee

 

Latinos for a Secure Retirement

 

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

 

League of Women Voters of the U.S.

 

Legal Momentum

 

Mental Health America

 

Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and

     Education Fund (MBELDEF)

 

NAACP

 

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

 

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good

Shepherd

 

National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.

 

National AIDS Housing Coalition

 

National Alliance on Mental Illness

 

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum

 

National Association for Children's Behavioral Health

 

National Association for Hispanic Elderly

 

National Association of Human Rights Workers (NAHRW)

 

National Center for Lesbian Rights

 

National Center for Transgender Equality

 

National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community

Development

 

National Community Reinvestment Coalition

 

National Congress of American Indians

 

National Congress of Black Women, Inc.

 

National Council of Jewish Women

 

National Council on Independent Living

 

National Disability Rights Network

 

National Education Association

 

National Employment Law Project

 

National Fair Housing Alliance

 

National Focus on Gender Education

 

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

 

National Health Law Program

 

National Immigration Law Center

 

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium

(NAKASEC)

 

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

 

National Legal Aid & Defender Association

 

National Low Income Housing Coalition

 

National Organization for Women

 

National Partnership for Women & Families

 

National Priorities Project

 

National Senior Citizens Law Center

 

National Skills Coalition

 

National Urban League

 

National Women's Law Center

 

NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

 

Not Dead Yet

 

The Office of Gender and Racial Justice, RE&WM, GAMC,

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

 

OMB Watch

 

PHI - Quality Care through Quality Jobs

 

Physicians for Social Responsibility

 

PolicyLink

 

Poverty & Race Research Action Council

 

ProgressNow

 

Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition (REHDC)

 

RESULTS: The Power to End Poverty

 

SER- Jobs for Progress National, Inc.

 

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

 

Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team

 

Social Security Works

 

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)

 

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

 

Southern Poverty Law Center

 

Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

 

United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries

 

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

 

United for a Fair Economy

 

United States Student Association

 

United Steelworkers

 

U.S. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA)

 

USAction

 

Voices for Progress

 

Wider Opportunities for Women

 

___________________________________________

 

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