WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, along with the rest of the Senate Democratic Caucus, called out congressional Republicans’ plan to slash crucial programs Americans depend on, like Meals on Wheels and Head Start, to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.
“Congress should not give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans by ripping away programs that almost 25 million Americans – close to 50% of whom are children – rely on for basic needs,” the senators wrote. “These devastating cuts will rip away access to child care and early education for close to 40,000 children, taking away programs that help set them up for successful lives.”
Republicans have targeted two essential funding sources for social services programs – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) – putting nearly 25 million children, seniors, and families at risk across the country. Their extreme budget proposal also calls for Medicaid cuts of up to $880 billion, which would take away people’s health benefits; make it harder for them to see their health care providers; and prevent seniors from receiving nursing home care.
Hickenlooper recently raised alarm about the latest estimate for how the proposed Republican budget to gut Medicaid would lead to millions of Americans losing health care. He also voted against the Republican budget resolution on the Senate floor and offered amendments to prevent cuts to Medicaid.
Full text of the letter available HERE and below.
An open letter to the public:
The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans are planning to give another round of tax handouts to the ultra-wealthy and corporations that are paid for by gutting funding that supports Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and other essential programs that seniors, children, and working families rely on. While Republicans maintain that they are not cutting benefits for people, they have zeroed-in on two essential funding sources for these programs – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) – putting children, seniors, and families at risk across the country.
We write to make our position on this legislation perfectly clear: Congress should not give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans by ripping away programs that almost 25 million Americans – close to 50% of whom are children – rely on for basic needs.
Earlier this month, Congressional Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate passed a budget that sets the stage for existential cuts to the safety net. Republican leaders claim they have no plans to eliminate essential services, but tens of billions in catastrophic cuts to these programs appeared on Republicans’ published wish list, alongside cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. State and local leaders confirm that eliminating SSBG and TANF would reduce programs that serve our most vulnerable as states and localities are already operating under tight budget constraints.
These devastating cuts will rip away access to child care and early education for close to 40,000 children, taking away programs that help set them up for successful lives. This will force working parents to walk an even tighter economic tightrope and make impossible choices about whether to cut back their hours or leave their jobs altogether to take care of their children. Moreover, these funding cuts will disproportionately impact kinship families – families in which grandparents or other family members raise children – as TANF is often their sole federal support outside of Social Security and the foster care system.
Along with children, seniors will bear the brunt of these cuts. For example, in South Carolina, the state’s adult protective services is funded entirely by SSBG, raising questions about how the state will be able to effectively identify and prevent elder abuse without these dollars. SSBG is also a critical funding source for Meals on Wheels programs across the country. If Congressional Republicans get away with eliminating SSBG, the local Meals on Wheels program in Abilene, Texas will be forced to cut services for over half of the 1,700 seniors and people with disabilities across 15 rural communities it currently feeds. It doesn’t get crueler than going after a program that seniors rely on to eat what is often their only meal of the day, and there are programs like these in every community.
Right now, Republicans are writing the most consequential legislation contemplated in decades entirely behind closed doors. That’s because Trump and Congressional Republicans must hide the ugly truth – their legislation feeds corporate and wealthy individuals’ greed by abandoning vulnerable children, starving seniors, and cutting off families in need. You, your family, and your neighbors deserve far better.
Democrats are fighting to protect your communities from Republican cuts.
Join us and keep up the fight.
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