PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Responding to data released today from the independent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), advocates urged Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation to fundamentally reconfigure President Bush's 2009 budget proposal. Specifically, the delegation was asked to advance appropriations bills that are fiscally responsible, narrow income inequality, and adequately invest in important American priorities.
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According to the CBPP, in 2009, Pennsylvania would lose an estimated $806 million in grants in aid to states and local communities (i.e. education, child care, LIHEAP, Community Development Block Grant, Head Start, Justice Assistance Grants, Public Housing Capital Fund, etc).
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CBPP's projections illustrate a troubling pattern of federal budgeting -- cuts here, cuts there -- creating a cumulative erosion of investment in domestic priorities like education, health care, disease prevention and research, as well as protecting children and communities.
A slowing economy, housing and credit crises, inflation and the real cost of meeting federal mandates are all largely ignored in the budget advanced by the President.
"Every county leader confronted with children who need protection, families that need food and shelter, and municipalities that need police coverage and crime prevention tools are disappointed by the budget's pass-the-buck philosophy," said Douglas Hill, Executive Director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. "The time is now to reverse the trend of the federal government imposing mandates while slamming the treasury door shut to pay for such mandates."
A loss of $28.1 million in Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) resources will impact Pennsylvania's successful effort to move families from welfare-to-work as well as undercut the ability of local Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to fight poverty in the trenches. Bush's plan for the Social Services Block Grant would strip another $20.7 million from the Commonwealth, and Pennsylvania's Vocational and Adult education is slated for a $49.5 million cut.
The President's budget strains America's safety net while increasing the deficit further, primarily by making permanent tax cuts despite a $2.4 trillion price tag over ten years.
"The Bush budget ignores the President's own acknowledgement that 'income inequality is real' by denying basic life and income supports to vulnerable Americans while growing the country's deficit and rewarding America's richest citizens," said John Wilson, Executive Director of Community Action Association of Pennsylvania.
Subsidized child care - a core ingredient to assist low-income moms and dads keep their jobs and assure their children are safe - isn't a priority that is recognized or rewarded. Enactment of the Bush budget would ensure that Pennsylvania families will have lost a total of more than $11 million for quality, safe and affordable child care since 2001. Beyond cuts in child care assistance, Head Start services faces cumulative reductions of $20.9 million. On the K-12 front, Pennsylvania cuts would rise to $222.5 million since 2001.
"The fortunes of families and children, especially in tough economic times, can change abruptly. The bottom line of budget choices must be protecting children," said Shelly Yanoff, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. "Children are counting on Congress to change the direction of the proposed federal budget by making wise investments in their families and for their future."
"We know that in Pennsylvania nearly 1.4 million people live in families that struggle daily to make ends meet," said
