This week, House Republicans have focused on H.R. 1, their proposed Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. Instead of creating jobs when we most need them, House Republicans' proposed legislation would result in job losses and reduced services in virtually every community.
"Republican leaders have made it clear to America's working families - from our youngest children to our seniors to workers in need of jobs and a safe workplace - that their future is on the chopping block," said SEIU President Mary Kay Henry. "But we are seeing this week in Wisconsin that Americans are not going to stand for counterproductive measures that disproportionally harm those who can least afford them."
The passage of H.R.1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, in the House would:
- Make cuts funding to local governments, which would cut the jobs of police officers, firefighters and teachers and deprive local communities of their vital services.
- End construction projects to rebuild our nation's infrastructure and halt disease research and innovation.
The cuts in H.R.1 would have a significant impact on the services provided by SEIU members. These cuts would...
- Reduce funding for K-12 education and support for special education, students with disabilities and schools in high poverty areas, cutting off almost 4 million students and costing thousands of teachers their jobs.
- End education, health, nutrition, and Head Start services for some 157,000 at-risk children up to age five.
- Decrease funding for Pell Grants that help students go to college by nearly 25 percent.
- Cut $2.1 billion (or 6.3 percent) of education funding, particularly for disadvantaged students and those with special needs--including $1.7 billion in cuts to formula grants to states.
- Roll back funding for the OSHA, resulting in job cuts of more than 415 people, including 200 inspectors and 17 whistleblower investigators. As a result, there would be approximately 8,000 fewer workplace hazard inspections and 740 fewer whistleblower discrimination investigations.
- Force the Food Inspection Service to lay-off all its inspectors for more than a month, which would cause some meat and poultry plants to stop operating.
- Remove 600,000 people from the nutrition program for women, infants and children and cut funding to help for the poor, including school funding in poor neighborhoods.
- Eliminate 5 million meals that are now delivered to the home-bound elderly.
- Put the financial security of all Americans at risk by making cuts to the Security and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
- Employment and training services would be cut by 52 percent, or more than $2 billion.
- The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps families pay their heating and cooling bills, would be reduced by $390 million and the Weatherization Assistance Program would be eliminated.
- The Justice Assistance Grants would lose approximately $197 million, or 19 percent, of their funding.
House Republicans' budget priorities threaten American innovation, hamper our global competitiveness and diminish investments in rebuilding America.
SEIU agrees that we must cut wasteful and unnecessary spending, but we should first close tax loopholes and end other tax breaks for the wealthy, end oil company subsidies and make government more accountable to people, not special interests.
SEIU is committed to strengthening our economy and tackling our short-term and long-term fiscal challenges in a responsible manner. However, we believe Congress should be listening to American families about what America's budget should look like to ensure the measures we take are not counterproductive and do not disproportionally harm those who can least afford it.
