Tell Congress to Protect Children's Programs Now!

Senators Reid (NV), Baucus (MT), Warner (VA), Durbin (IL), Conrad (ND), Collins and Snowe (ME) and House Representatives Van Hollen (MD), Hoyer (MD), Clyburn (SC), and Pelosi (CA) are playing a key role in negotiations taking place now to reduce the federal deficit by trillions of dollars. Vice President Biden and a small group of Members of Congress are trying to get an agreement by July 1.

If you live in one of these states, please call your Senator or Representatives TODAY to show that constituents OPPOSE making low- and moderate-income people bear the full burden of deficit reduction, and SUPPORT fair increases in revenue as a significant part of reducing the deficit.

Call 1-888-907-1485 toll-free and ask to be connected to your Senator or Representative.

Need to look up your Representative or Senator? Click here.

Call NOW and share this suggested message:

"Please oppose harmful cuts or caps to low-income programs in the negotiations to reduce the deficit. Please support fair increases in revenues to prevent reckless cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, and other essential services."

Background:

The choices are stark. The negotiators are working towards $4 trillion in savings over the next 10 or 12 years - and are trying to figure out how to do it. Republican leaders want to reduce the deficit through spending cuts alone; most Democrats favor including revenue increases in the package. There are plenty of disagreements about what to cut. But it is clear that without revenue increases, there is no way to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion without cutting deeply into services that meet human needs.

That would mean a massive loss of services. In the House budget plan, after 10 years the proposed cuts would force more than 19 million people to lose Medicaid coverage, not even counting the additional 17 million who would have been covered by Medicaid through the new health care law (that the budget would repeal). The SNAP/food stamp cuts would be deep enough to deny food stamp benefits to 8 million people. Or, Medicaid and SNAP cuts could be made by harsh reductions in benefits instead of denying assistance altogether. Either way, the denial of help would be unprecedented - and harmful.

But these cuts would get only about a half the way to a goal of cutting $4 trillion. The House budget would also deny job training and employment services for 8 million people, end home energy assistance for 3.5 million households, terminate rental assistance for 440,000 households with low-income seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children, say no to Pell grants for 1.4 million low-income college students, and slash anti-poverty services at community action agencies that serve more than 20 million people. And these are just some of the examples - no service would be immune, from child care to meals for seniors.

Such mammoth and harmful cuts DO NOT have to happen. At least half of the deficit reduction could easily come from fair revenue increases. A large proportion could come from cutting waste in military spending.

Why is it so important to call your Senator or Representative now?

These decisions are being tied to a vote needed soon to increase the federal authority to borrow (the "debt ceiling"). Many Republicans and some Democrats have threatened to vote against an increase in the debt ceiling if there isn't a deficit reduction plan attached. Most economists believe it would be dangerous not to increase the limits on federal borrowing. It would prevent the U.S. from meeting obligations already made, with very bad consequences for our fragile economy. Federal authority to borrow will run out by the beginning of August. There is news today that Republicans have left the Biden negotiations because they are refusing to consider revenues in the deficit reduction plan. They are upping the pressure to cut deeply. If we are silent, they may get their way.

Call your Senator or Representative at 1-888-907-1485 toll-free now and during the week of June 27.

Need to look up your Representative or Senator? Click here.

Please show you support RESPONSIBLE long-term deficit reduction, through a combination of revenue increases and spending cuts that do not harm the poor and vulnerable, and that do not prevent investments in our people and economy.

Thank you for doing your part to spark action today!