Ryan Budget

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in a press conference held by several Congresswomen on what the budget proposed by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) would do to women and their families (that’s me standing in front of the flag!).

We’ve previously highlighted the ways the Ryan budget would harm women, like dismantling Medicaid and repealing the ACA; deeply cutting funding for programs like child care, Head Start, education and job training; and providing lavish tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations.

The event, held by Representatives Donna F. Edwards (D-MD), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), addressed these harmful policy proposals in another way - by showing the human cost of these cuts. Read more »

Once upon a time (last year), I taught 4th grade at a Title I school in rural Louisiana.  We went to school Tuesday through Friday.  Yes, that’s right – only 4 DAYS A WEEK. In 2006 the underfunded and low performing school district desperately needed to find a way to save money, so the school board had to cut out Mondays.

Last week Paul Ryan released his budget and guess what - in FY13 it CUTS $15.8 million in funding from Title I schools (schools where over 75% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch) in Louisiana alone!  In FY14 it adds a whopping $54.9 million in additional cuts to Louisiana schools.  By the end of 2014, under Ryan’s plan, over 4 million of the most vulnerable children across the country would lose access to education services. 

According to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan this is the “The Path to Prosperity.”  Is that a joke?  Read more »

Today House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his vision for the next ten years. Despite having a section entitled "Fairness Restored," Ryan’s budget does anything but put forward a fair and equitable plan.

Chairman Ryan’s plan balances the budget on the backs of vulnerable women and their families. It would:

• Cut the funding available for programs like Head Start, child care, K-12 education, job training, and domestic violence prevention.
• Cut Medicaid and turn it into a block grant, allowing states to restrict eligibility and eliminate benefits. About two-thirds of adult Medicaid beneficiaries are women.
• Repeal the Affordable Care Act, eliminating the Medicaid expansions critical for low-income families, tax credits to help moderate-income families purchase health insurance, help with the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare and preventive health care services (including contraceptive services), and protections against discriminatory insurance company practices.

Sister Simone of the Nuns on the Bus

Yesterday around noon, a big blue bus pulled up across the street from the Capitol building. “Eye of the Tiger” played as the doors opened and the cheering crowd shifted to make a path to the stage. The celebrities of the day weren’t movie stars. They weren’t politicians. They were nuns. On a mission.

The “Nuns on the Bus” wrapped up a 9 state, 15 day tour with a press conference in Washington, DC. Led by Sister Simone Campbell, the nuns are on a mission to shed light on the disastrous effect the Ryan Budget would have on many Americans, particularly the communities nuns serve.

By highlighting the benefits of programs like job training and soup kitchens, the nuns hoped to show how the Ryan Budget would hurt those who rely on such assistance.  

The press conference included a combination of rock and roll played over speakers and group singing of traditional songs like “Down by the Riverside.” A mix of old and new, faith and modernity, much like the nuns’ appeal to morals and faith applied to issues of today.

The nuns oppose the Ryan Budget on the grounds that the cuts conflict with their faith-based social justice beliefs. The programs which stand to lose funding include Head Start, child care, Pell Grants, food stamps, Medicaid and TANF while the budget would increase already lavish tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.

Take Action: Tell Your Representative to Vote NO

Protect millions of women and families from the harsh spending cuts the House is voting on this week.

They just never stop.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the budget blueprint introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The Ryan budget calls for drastic cuts in programs that low-income women and their families depend on to meet their basic needs — and trillions of dollars in additional tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

This week, the House will vote on a bill to implement the Ryan budget by slashing Medicaid, Food Stamps (SNAP), child care, and more, and dismantling the Affordable Care Act.

Please contact your Representative TODAY and tell him or her to vote against these devastating cuts!

The bill the House is scheduled to vote on this Thursday, H.R. 4966, would:

• Let states reduce eligibility standards for Medicaid, which women disproportionately rely on for health care coverage, and for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
• Dismantle the Affordable Care Act, by eliminating funding for state health exchanges and community-level preventive and public health initiatives, and by reducing access to affordable health insurance coverage by discouraging the use of premium tax credits.
• Terminate the Social Services Block Grant, which gives billions of dollars to states to support seniors and children, including critical funding for child care assistance.
• Cut Food Stamp (SNAP) benefits, reducing monthly benefits almost immediately for about 44 million people and denying benefits altogether for as many as 2 million more.
• Eliminate eligibility for the refundable Child Tax Credit for many immigrant families.

You've heard of slash and burn, but how about slash and burden?

On Thursday, the House is expected to vote on a budget for Fiscal Year 2013 introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The Ryan budget would devastate vital services for women and their families while giving trillions in new tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations — on top of extending provisions of the Bush-era tax cuts that benefit only the very wealthy.

Let's make it clear that we will not stand for a budget that slashes programs for women and families and puts the burden of paying for tax breaks for millionaires and corporations on middle- and low-income Americans.

Tell your Representative to oppose the Ryan Budget. As your Members of Congress start budget negotiations, they need to know that their constituents expect them to protect programs for women and families — and to require the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.

What's wrong with Rep. Paul Ryan's Budget? For starters, it would:

• Repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Insurance companies could continue to charge women higher premiums than men, deny coverage to women due to preexisting condition, and refuse to cover maternity care.