Alexandria, VA — Catholic Charities USA, which represents one of the nation’s largest private networks of social service providers, today voiced its concern over proposed cuts to critical health and social service programs contained in the president’s fiscal 2007 budget.
“A troubling pattern of cutting programs that support our nation’s most poor and vulnerable continues,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA. “Instead of proposing a budget that would protect funding for critical services that help millions of seniors, the disabled, families, and others struggling to achieve stability and self-sufficiency, the president has sent to Congress a plan that threatens an already fragile safety net.”
The president’s proposed budget comes just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2006 federal budget, which contains drastic cuts and changes to programs such as Medicaid, child support enforcement, child welfare, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
The new $2.77 trillion fiscal 2007 budget proposal released yesterday contains numerous cuts and changes to vital health and social service programs. According to Catholic Charities USA analysis, the proposed budget:
**further restrict access to essential health care by increasing costs to Medicaid recipients;
**consolidates important child welfare programs that could result in a reduction in service for some of the nation’s most vulnerable children;
**reduces funding to the Social Services Block Grant and the Community Services Block Grant.
**eliminates funding for the commodity supplemental food program (CSFP), which provides funding for meals and snacks to child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start programs, after-school programs, shelters, and adult day care centers;
**cuts or eliminates funding for key housing programs, including a 50 percent cut to a housing for the elderly program (Section 202); a 25 percent cut to a housing program for the disabled (Section 811); and the elimination of funding for HOPE VI, a public revitalization housing program;
**eliminates food stamp assistance to certain at-risk populations; and
**eliminates or reduces funding for worker training programs, including eliminating funding for migrant and seasonal worker employment training and services.
Fr. Snyder also noted that the budget included possible increased funding for faith-based organizations, such as $98 million for state Access to Recovery Grants, which may include supportive services in faith-based institutions, and $204 million for abstinence-only education programs.
“We appreciate the president’s ongoing commitment to support the faith community by providing important funding opportunities to enhance our efforts to support low-income families. Unfortunately, these increases come at the same time that other programs that serve our nation’s poor and vulnerable are being slashed.”
Tags: Advocacy
