Federal Budget Debate

The headlines are covered with comments about Congress continuing to debate over the current federal budget and how to decrease the federal budget deficit. There are continuous punches being thrown between the political parties, and currently there seems to be no end with a possible government shut down looming April 8^th.

Over the past couple months I have read stories here and there but never really dug deep into what was going on. So over the past couple days I have taken the time to really sort out my opinions. I even took the time to look up the Bill currently going through congress. I will admit I did not read all 383 pages, but I did scan through it and read summaries of the bill that was sponsored by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH). The Bill was introduced February 10. (Here is a good review of the Bill’s progress)

Much of the controversy that has been out there has been how the Democrats disagree with the Republican authored Bill HR 1 and the cuts being proposed. While I will take some time to review the Bill, I must make a note that Obama’s proposed budget has just as much controversial budget cuts. As of right now, neither party is willing to make much of any cuts towards defense spending, and actually there are proposals to increase spending in certain defense areas. So in my review I am targeting both Republicans and Democrats because both have made proposals to cut funding to programs that assist some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and no one seems to want to discuss the big elephant in the room of National Defense spending. A study was done by theCenter for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments that showed in inflation-adjusted dollars, the total National Defense Budget is at the highest since WWII.

Here is a video made by founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Ben Cohen. He does a great job at showing US spending, highlighting National Defense spending.

HR 1: Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations Bill

The United States has a Federal Budget Deficit of $1.5 trillion, so the goal of the Bill HR 1 is to help make necessary cuts to decrease the deficit. HR 1, in its original form, proposed $61 billion in cuts. Originally the Democrats proposed no cuts, and in my opinion it seems that they did this more out of not wanting to agree with the Republicans in any form. While debates have occurred, the Democrats have approved $10 billion in cuts. Recently, the Democrats stated they would increase cuts to $20 billion and the Republicans said they would be willing to come down to $36 billion. Some Democrats have stated they are willing to consider cuts in the mid-30’s; however, this agreement is dependent on where the cuts are made. Just an FYI, $35 billion in cuts would shave about 2% off the Federal Deficit. (See this Washington Post article)

The problem is that many of these funding cuts affect programs that assist the underprivileged and destitute among us. Here are a handful of the programs facing cuts: (Full list of cuts can be found here)

–          Special Olympics

–          Peace Corps and Teach for America

–          National Endowment for the Arts – provides grants for not-for-profit organizations and special grants for organizations  reaching underserved populations

–          Legal Services Corporation – largest provider of civil legal aid for the poor in the nation, promotes equal access to justice

–          HUD – provides affordable housing for the elderly and disabled, poor families, and veterans

–          Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Food Stamps – WIC provides grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk

–          Head Start – provides education and services to some of the most vulnerable children and families in the country

–          Community Development Fund – enables local organizations in economic development, creating jobs, and developing affordable housing

–          Environmental Cuts – Energy Star, beach replenishment, funding to monitor green house gas emissions, research and monitoring of climate change, the EPA is facing massive cuts

–          Rural Development – provides housing, business, and utility grants and loans to rural areas

–          Foreign Agriculture Service – this is an umbrella of multiple services that provides and supports education, child development, and food security for some of the world’s poorest, and this is the agency that provides to food donations to areas  under emergency needs

–          President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief – provides funding to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis

–          Community Health Centers – decrease in available grants to centers all across the country that work to provide health care to the underinsured and noninsured

–          National Health Service Corps – loan repayment to doctors, nurse practitioners, and midwifes willing to serve 2 to 4 years in high need areas that typically cannot afford to pay competitive wages to draw these healthcare professionals in

–          Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – decrease in funding to provide free immunizations and preventative services

–          Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration – facing cuts in mental health, substance abuse treatment, and prevention services

–          National Institute of Health – cuts in available research grants

What Would Jesus Cut?

Recently the organization Sojourners leader Jim Wallis and a coalition of Christian leaders started a campaign called “What Would Jesus Cut?” They have put out ads with declaration and plea for our politicians to defend the rights of the impoverished as many programs face the threats of millions of dollars in cuts. Jim Wallis is joined by others such as David Beckmann (President of Bread for the World), author and speaker Brian Mclaren, author and activist Shane Claiborne, and author and professor Tony Campolo. On Monday Jim Wallis, David Beckmann, Ritu Sharma (co-founder of Women Thrive Worldwide), and Tony Hall (former US ambassador to the World Food Programme and former US congressmen) announced that they will begin a month long fast to bring recognition to the proposed budget cuts that target vulnerable people in the US and the world.

The campaign provides support through the prayer and fasting and ways to take action during this time of budget debate, such as contacting your congressmen through an already prepared letter/email. It doesn’t take much to stand up and speak out. It only takes the courage to do it. So I challenge you to read and learn more about where congress is proposing to make its cuts, make your own opinion, and react. Personally, I find it impossible to sit here and not speak out, and I only hope you will feel the same way.

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’”      ~ Isaiah 58:6-9 (The Message)

 

Here is a list of others blogs on the “What Would Jesus Cut?” campaign:

Mark Tooley – http://spectator.org/archives/2011/03/04/what-would-jesus-cut

Doug Bandow – http://blogs.forbes.com/dougbandow/2011/03/28/balancing-the-federal-budget-what-would-jesus-cut/

CNN Belief Blog – http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/28/new-budget-campaign-asks-what-would-jesus-cut/

Jim Wallis – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/what-would-jesus-cut_b_821555.html

Shane Claiborne – http://www.redletterchristians.org/what-would-jesus-cut/

Visit www.sojo.net for more blogs.