President Obama’s budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, released April 10, 2013, proposes substantial new investments in early care and education for children birth to age five that will help more low-income families afford high-quality early learning opportunities for their children. It maintains funding for most programs targeted to low-income people – a priority that is particularly important to women, who are more likely than men to be poor at all stages of their lives and to rely on federal programs to protect their health, obtain quality child care and higher education, and help them meet their basic needs during difficult times and as they age. The budget continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, makes improvements in tax credits for low- and moderate-income families permanent, and raises new revenues by closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest Americans, in sharp contrast to the FY 2014 budget passed by the House.
In addition, the President’s budget ends deep, across-the-board sequestration cuts to discretionary programs that are currently reducing services for many low-income families and individuals.
But the budget also proposes some deeply troubling program cuts, and fails to raise sufficient revenues to make the additional investments needed to get our economy moving and help families get back on their feet.
Overall, the President’s budget cuts non-defense discretionary spending by approximately $100 billion below the caps established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). The BCA caps alone will bring federal spending on programs in this category – including many that serve low-income people – to its lowest level in over 50 years; additional cuts could compel further reductions in services that women and their families depend on.
The budget also proposes potentially harmful cuts to health care programs, cuts energy assistance for low-income households, and recommends adopting the chained Consumer Price Index (the “chained CPI”), which would alter the way a number of government programs and the tax code account for inflation. The chained CPI would reduce the annual cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits, producing benefit cuts that would be particularly harmful to women and would only be partially mitigated by a bump-up in benefits for long-term beneficiaries. However, the budget would not apply the chained CPI to needs-based benefit programs, such as Supplemental Security Income, or use it to determine eligibility for programs like SNAP.
The President’s budget raises needed revenue and promotes tax fairness by closing tax loopholes and limiting tax breaks for very high-income taxpayers. But although the budget identifies a number of corporate tax loopholes that should be closed, it devotes all of that revenue to paying for new or extended business tax breaks and lowering corporate tax rates, shortchanging needed investments and leaving the entire burden of deficit reduction on individuals and families.
The analysis below examines what the President’s budget would mean for low-income women and families, detailing proposed funding levels and policy changes for programs in the following categories:
- Supports for Children
- Women’s Health
- Tax Assistance for Individuals and Families
- Nutrition Programs
- Income and Work Supports
- Education & Training
- Housing Assistance
- Revenues
Download the full report below.
