| |  | | | | Budget Conversations
It has been a week of high theater. Some of it has been meaningful, like seeing my friend Rep. Gabby Giffords walk again as she arrived at Cape Canaveral. Some of it has been fun, like this morning's Royal wedding (no, I was not up in time to watch the nuptials). And some of this week's theater has been silly, like the release of the President's long-form birth certificate. Ladies and gentlemen, it is true, the President of the United States is an American. I am frankly not sure if the clamor and idiocy surrounding the President's birth certificate is a product of the fact-free world we live in, or if it is the founding argument of this strange new world. Regardless, I have already given the issue too much time.
Back here in the world of real issues, I have had a week full of conversations and listening sessions about our nation's employment outlook, debt and deficit and next year's budget.
Here is a clip from last week's Coffee with Cleaver, in which all of those subjects and more were talked about by your fellow constituents. It was a full house, and once again a great example of democracy in action.
On Tuesday, I was able to sit down with a group of area ministers to talk about next year's budget. Let me be clear, I believe the budget is a moral document.
This year, as in every year since 1981, the Congressional Black Caucus, of which I am proud to Chair, developed and proposed a budget. This year we gathered economists and experts from across the nation to present advice and testimony. We crafted our budget, presented it on the floor, and received a majority vote from the Democratic Caucus.
As I talked with our area ministers, I was reminded that 100 days into this Congress, the new majority has yet to introduce one jobs bill or feasible solution to the table. Instead, they have proposed draconian cuts that will critically wound and significantly impact vulnerable communities.
Our nation's communities are still reeling from the effects of the recession. Even as our economy slowly emerges from the recession, we still face high rates of unemployment, home foreclosure, educational regression and daily hardships at the fuel pump.
What the ministers I spoke with know perhaps better than anyone is that, as difficult as this recession has been for Americans, it has been twice as hard on our nation's poor, infirm, elderly and handicapped. Increasingly, the vulnerable in our communities rely on public programs to meet their basic needs. These are the much-needed programs the Republican leadership diminishes with their budget proposal.
As I have explained in nearly every meeting I have been in this week, I believe that congressional budgets are a window into the moral compass of our conscience as a nation—and the compass is horribly off. Recklessly cutting vital programs like job training, education, and health care for millions of hardworking American families is not a roadmap to balancing the budget—it is a road to nowhere.
The American people do not deserve this. Instead they deserve good jobs to care for their families. They deserve educational opportunities for their children. They deserve retirement security and access to affordable healthcare for their families.
This afternoon, I spoke with the Eastern Jackson County Betterment Council, a bi-partisan group of Mayors, city staff and state elected officials in Lee's Summit and discussed the need for civility and smart deficit reduction.
As I explained on the House floor when I proposed the alternative budget, I have a problem with the policy not the people who are advocating for those policies. We disagree and that is part of democracy. My concern is that the overwhelming message the majority's budget sends to America is that we should balance the budget on the backs of the poorest of the poor. I simply fundamentally disagree with that approach.
In the last decade, the average income for the bottom 90% declined while the top 1% saw their income rise by more than $250,000. As a result, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more money and resources than 50% of the United States population.
Additionally, the Budget that eventually passed the House obtains two-thirds ($2.9 trillion) of its more than $4 trillion in budget cuts (over 10 years) from programs that serve people of limited means. In my opinion, this violates basic principles of fairness. This includes harmful cuts to programs like the Workforce Investment Act, which provides money for job training, and billions of dollars in cuts in Pell Grant assistance, which in particular, 46% of all African American students utilize to achieve higher education.
The Republican sponsored budget also eliminates Medicare as we know it, shifting costs to our seniors. Their plan downsizes Medicaid into a block grant program. Furthermore, it reduces Medicaid by $2.17 trillion. This will deny our vulnerable seniors and disabled populations access to long-term care and lead to extreme cuts to quality and reliable care. The problem is exacerbated in African American communities: the latest figures show that 4 million African Americans received Medicare assistance.
Finally, this budget ignores the economic context of deeply depressed home prices and the worst foreclosure crisis in American history. Their budget undermines a recovery in the housing market and raises borrowing costs for homeowners by eliminating government support for the housing market. By shuttering Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and gutting the Federal Housing Administration, the Republican budget would make it harder for people of color to achieve the American dream of owning a home, and impede recovery in the housing market.
As I explained to a rally of union members yesterday outside of Kansas City City Hall, hardworking American families may not be the priority in the misguided Republican Budget, but they are my priority.
My grandfather was routinely asked which one of his 18 children was his favorite. To that he would always answer with, the one that is sick, the one that is hurt, the one that is behind, the one that needs the most attention and love. That is what our nation's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget should be about, the least of these among us. We can never, ever forget that they should be our first priority.
Update on Storms in the Southeast
President Barack Obama speaks to the media while touring storm-ravaged areas of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 29, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
"Michelle and I want to express, first of all, our deepest condolences to not just the city of Tuscaloosa but the state of Alabama and all the other states that have been affected by this unbelievable storm. We just took a tour, and I've got to say I've never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking. We were just talking to some residents here who were lucky enough to escape alive, but have lost everything. They mentioned that their neighbors had lost two of their grandchildren in the process." -President Obama
We continue to think and pray for the families whose lives have been turned upside down by the devastating storms this week across the Southeast. I know many of you have friends and family who live in and around the affected areas, and I wanted to share with you part of the Congressional briefing on the storms from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- Severe weather system including high winds, hail and tornadoes devastates parts of several southeastern states, including Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Alabama is most heavily affected by severe storms, which are forecast to affect the East Coast from Florida through New England through April 29th.
- Governor Bentley has submitted a request for a federal emergency declaration for the State of Alabama as a result of severe storms, hail, straight-line winds, and tornadoes.
- President Obama has spoken with all the Governors affected by the storm and is visiting areas hardest hit today.
- The President has declared an emergency for all 67 counties in Alabama, and orders federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the area struck by these storms. The President's action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. Joe M. Girot is designated as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in Alabama.
- The President released a statement on the severe storms and tornadoes in Alabama https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/28/president-devastation-alabama
- FEMA has placed two National Incident Management Assistance Teams on alert, in case Alabama requests their assistance. These teams help the state coordinate response efforts.
- FEMA has placed Texas Task Force 1 Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) team on alert, to be available in case Alabama makes a request for assistance.
- FEMA Region IV has deployed a regional liaison officer to the Alabama emergency operations center to assist in coordination efforts as the state continues to respond and begins to recover from this devastating storm outbreak.
In all of the areas affected by the severe storms and tornadoes, FEMA continues to work closely with the entire emergency management team, especially the state emergency management agencies in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. As President Obama said just after the storms hit, the federal government "stands ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms".
For the latest updates check out the Severe Storms / Tornadoes category on the FEMA blog. Of course, our area is at risk for severe storms and tornadoes in the future, please take steps to get prepared at www.Ready.gov.
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Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress | |
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