Legislation & Politics

Letter to Senators opposing S. 1932, the budget reconciliation conference report

December 19, 2005

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I strongly urge you to oppose S. 1932, the deeply flawed budget reconciliation conference report the House approved early this morning. The conference agreement significantly worsens the Senate passed bill by cutting an additional $5 billion and imposing cuts to previously protected services. Overall, the Conference Report slashes nearly $40 billion in funding from services that are vital to low-income families, including $5 billion from Medicaid, $1.9 billion from child support, $343 million from foster care, $12.7 billion from student loans, and shifting onto states $8.4 billion in costs for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and delaying payments to disabled recipients of Supplemental Security Income. Further, these cuts are a pretext to partially pay for the up to $100 billion in reckless tax cuts that are expected next year, primarily benefiting the wealthiest of Americans.

AFSCME strongly opposes the one-sided sacrifices that the budget reconciliation bill inflicts on children, families, the elderly and disabled while Congress is preparing their tax breaks for the wealthy:

Medicaid is cut by nearly $5 billion: The conference agreement maintains 80 percent of the cost-sharing increases to low-income Medicaid beneficiaries ($1.9 billion over five years and $10.1 billion over ten years) and benefit reductions of $1.3 billion over five years and $6.3 billion over ten years contained in the original House-passed bill. The CBO has concluded that cost-sharing increases are likely to lead many low-income Medicaid patients to forgo health care services and medications. In its bill, the Senate rejected cuts that would harm beneficiaries. The conference agreement instead shields powerful special interests, including insurance and drug companies, from reasonable restraints and elimination of excessive payments while it threatens access to health care for poor women, children and the elderly.

Child Support Enforcement is cut $1.5 billion over five years and $4.9 billion over ten years: The CBO has estimated that this loss in federal child support funding will result in custodial parents receiving $2.9 billion less child support over the next five years, and $8.4 billion less over the next ten years.

TANF work requirements increased while child care funding lags far behind: The conference agreement would impose very expensive new work requirements on states. The CBO estimates that the cost to states of meeting the new work requirements in the conference agreement by increasing the minimum number of parents who must participate in welfare-to-work programs is $8.4 billion over five years. The agreement's $1 billion over five years in child care funding falls $11.5 billion short of the amount that CBO has estimated states need to meet the new requirements and ensure that child care funding keeps pace with inflation. As a result of this inadequate funding, an estimated 255,000 children in low-income working families would lose child care assistance in 2010 as compared to 2004 as states shift resources away from child care subsidies for these families to help meet the costs of the new work requirements. In addition, the conference agreement sharply restricts the flexibility states now have to set policies in their state-funded cash assistance programs, which will result in additional costs for states to avoid federal penalties.

$12.7 billion in cuts to student aid: The conference agreement retains enormous cuts to student loan programs, with 70% of the student aid cuts coming from the pockets of students and their parents. This represents the largest reduction to student aid in our country's history. In addition, AFSCME strongly opposes the new provision that would forgive federally-backed loans to private school teachers.

$343 million in net cuts for foster care: The conference agreement includes two cuts that will make it harder for states to provide federally funded foster care benefits to grandparents or other family members who have stepped in to provide care for their relatives' children.

SSI recipients will have to wait up to a year to receive all the benefits they are owed: Poor individuals with disabilities who are owed more than three months of back benefits will now have to wait up to a year to receive their full benefits. Currently, these back benefits are given in single lump sum payments. Some poor people with disabilities could die before receiving the full back benefits they are owed.

AFSCME urges you to stand firm to the commitments this body has made to protect the most vulnerable among us. While the Congress is considering fiscally irresponsible and immoral tax cuts that will primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans, we urge you to make the right choice for America's families and vote no on the budget conference agreement and oppose this destructive budget reconciliation process.


     Sincerely,

    Charles M. Loveless
    Director of Legislation

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