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Talking Points

Congress is poised to follow the Administration’s lead and pass a budget that would cut domestic programs deeply, while at the same time providing yet more costly tax cuts. Unless concerned citizens speak out, Congress will pursue this highly unbalanced approach to deficit reduction, which flies in the face of the fundamental principle of shared sacrifice. In addition, Congress may impose new spending caps that will open the door to far deeper cuts down the road. If this strategy is successful, millions of people will suffer the harsh effects for years to come. This is simply unacceptable.
Here are a few suggested themes to weave into your messages to the media, members of Congress, and community members about the budget.

1. Large budget cuts will harm millions of children, elderly, and working adults. Domestic budget cuts will harm people’s lives. Too many children will not get the education they need to succeed, and fewer sick children will be able to see a doctor outside of an emergency room. College could be even further out of reach. Vulnerable elderly people could lose critical nursing home services. Promises to our nation’s veterans will be broken. Fewer working parents will be able to find good early education and child care. Environmental and law enforcement protections will be reduced. This is not what America is about. Rather than building better lives for our children, we’d be heading down a path to an America where each generation is worse off than the one before.

2. The budget makes the wrong choices based on the wrong priorities. The budget singles out domestic programs for significant cuts — just to pay for more costly tax cuts that would likely be tilted toward the wealthy. In fact, when the tax cuts are factored in, the budget may not actually reduce the deficit. These are the wrong choices.

3. Don’t pass the buck to states and communities. Federal budget cuts just shift the burden to address critical problems to the states. But states have already been squeezed and most have tightened their belts by cutting health care, education, child care and other services. More cuts are inevitable if federal resources are cut back.

4. Neglect now means paying far more later. Cutting our investments in health care, education, and other programs that rebuild communities will require us to pay more later in failing schools, lost productivity, greater health problems, and more crime. It’s like a leak in the roof; if you ignore it now, you pay more later when you have to repair all your ceilings, floors, and walls. Mismanagement of the federal budget now, by making the wrong choices, will lead to huge debt payments and a weaker economy for our children and grandchildren.

5. The programs that are being cut didn’t cause the deficit. Run-away tax cuts are the biggest cause of the deficit — not health care and education. The budget surpluses available just a few years ago were spent not on the programs that are now on the chopping block, but rather on the war, tax cuts, and new programs like Medicare prescription drugs.

6. The budget must be fair and balanced. A federal budget that makes children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and veterans pay the bill, while giving more tax cuts to the wealthy and special interests isn’t fair and isn’t balanced. Congress can and must do better.

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Related Links:
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» Analysis of House Budget Resolution by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
» Analysis of Senate Budget Resolution by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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