Daniel
On Sunday, June 12th, Vote Kids introduced Daniel to voters in New Hampshire and Iowa.
This is Daniel. His Dad died before he was born. His Mom works two jobs but can’t afford necessities like health insurance.
Lucky for Daniel, Head Start will prepare him for school. The School Lunch program will help him grow strong. And the Kids Health program will give him free vaccinations.
- Head Start is a national program that “promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.”
- The school lunch program “provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.”
- Many children in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program qualify for and receive vaccinations.
But some in Congress say we can’t afford to help Daniel anymore because times are tough
When the House Appropriations Committee proposed $60 million in non-defense discretionary cuts earlier this year, members talked about how they needed to cut spending on all programs:
- House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers of Kentucky: “These cuts go far and wide, and will affect every community in the nation. These were hard decisions, and I know many people will not be happy with everything we’ve proposed in this package. That’s understandable and not unexpected, but I believe these reductions are necessary to show that we are serious about returning our nation to a sustainable financial path.”
- Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois: “This is a moral issue acknowledging that there may be some very worthy programs that are going to get hurt, but we all have to suck it up.”
In April, the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan released a budget resolution entitled “The Pathway to Prosperity“outlining the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2012. In it he writes:
- “Government at all levels is mired in debt. Mismanagement and overspending have left the nation on the brink of bankruptcy. Only recently, millions of American families saw their dreams destroyed in a financial disaster caused by misguided policies, perverse incentives, and irresponsible leadership. This crisis squandered the nation’s savings and crippled its economy.” (Page 10)
- “[The Pathway to Prosperity] Builds on continued efforts to pare back spending on non-security government bureaucracies to below 2008 levels and hold this category of spending to a five-year freeze.” (Page 29)
This budget resolution passed the House 235-193 (House Roll Call Vote #277, H.Con.Res.34, April 15, 2011). It received 40 votes in the Senate with 57 voting against it (Senate Roll Call Vote #77, Motion to Proceed to Consider H.Con.Res.34, May 25, 2011).
If passed, these cuts would have substantial negative impacts on Head Start (click here to learn more), school lunch and other nutrition programs (click here to learn more), and child health programs (click here to learn more).
America Knows Better
1,024 likely voters were asked the following question in a poll conducted in April of this year:
“The House budget proposal repeals the health care reform law that was passed last year. This law improved access to health insurance for millions of low-income children and ensures that no child can be denied health care coverage based on a pre-existing condition. Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose repealing the health care reform law as part of the effort to reduce the budget deficit”
57% oppose this budget proposal after hearing about these cuts. Only 40% favor it.
To see our previous ads in New Hampshire, click here. To see our previous ads in Iowa, click here.