ACTION ALERT

UTICA CITIZENS IN ACTION

P.O. BOX 411

UTICA, NEW YORK 13503-0411

August 19, 1999 To: Grassroots and Community-Based Organizations For further information:

For more information, contact: John J. Furman (315) 725-0974 (315) 829-5132 (315) 724-5772

UPDATE ON FEDERAL BUDGET PROCESS

YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW

WHAT IS HAPPENING: Congress adjourned for Recess on August 7th. It will resume business in Washington on September 7th. This month is a critical time to talk to your Senator and Representative at home about their impending votes on the federal budget, which is supposed to be decided by September 30th. Congress continues to debate significantly cutting social programs while voting to provide costly tax breaks primarily benefiting the wealthy. Many of local grassroots groups and citizens, have been hard at work fighting against the cuts and for greater fairness. This month long recess is an opportunity to ensure that Congress hears loudly from constituents.

The Utica Citizens in Action is organizing a coalition of organizations in our area - Central New York State - to meet with local congresspersons and Senators. We are urging organizations throughout the United States to do the same. Please join us in our efforts to ensure that federal spending priorities are reasonable and just.

To help you in your discussions at home, below is a summary of the overall status and 4 major areas affecting the federal budget.

OVERVIEW: There are 13 Appropriation Bills. Not one of them has been voted into law as of this date. The spending caps (legal limits on what Congress can spend) are so restrictive that Congress is unlikely to be able to gain sufficient votes make the drastic cuts that they require. At this point, the option of raising spending caps is politically unappealing. The only alternative for funding programs is so-called "emergency spending," which allows for circumventing the spending caps by tapping into the budget surplus.

THE TAX BILL: The House and Senate reached a compromise on a tax cut bill that will cost $792 billion over the next decade. It will benefit the wealthiest taxpayers the most, providing two-thirds of its tax cuts to the best-off tenth of all taxpayers. Under this plan, the richest 1% will get more than $46,000 per year in tax breaks. For a thorough analysis of the bill, see the website for Citizens for Tax Justice at www.ctj.org. The money needed to pay for these tax cuts will come from the projected federal budget surplus. The existence of this surplus depends upon severe cuts in discretionary social spending. Congress voted for the tax bill by a margin of 221 to 206 in the House and 50 to 49 in the Senate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Urge President Clinton to keep his commitment to veto the tax bill. Let your Senator and Representative know you are appalled by their vote for it (or grateful for their vote against).

THE HUD-VA BILL: The House Appropriations Committee approved the HUD-VA bill on July 30th. While the House bill level funds some programs, it cuts the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Homeless Assistance and Public Housing, and other crucial programs. These cuts come at a time when over 9 million very low-income households pay more than half of their income for housing.

The Senate HUD-VA bill proposes to cut housing programs by 13.3%. The bill will not be voted on until after Congress returns from Recess, after which time both bills will go into House-Senate Conference Committee before a final vote.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Urge your Senator and Representative to vote against a HUD-VA bill which cuts funding to critical housing programs

LOCAL FACT: Utica, New York would lose $507,000 in CDBG funds if the Senate version passes in its current form.

To find out what your city would lose in CDBG funds, visit the National Priorities Project website at www.natprior.org. Our report "CDBG at Risk: Compromising our Communities" shows the loss in CDBG funds between 1980 and 1999 for all 989 entitlement cities. State-by-state information on the loss of CDBG monies compared to the increase in poverty rates over the same period of time is also available. Please use this information in your discussions with your elected representatives to demonstrate how the disinvestment in our communities must stop.

THE PENTAGON: Both the House and Senate passed their own versions of the Pentagon bill prior to Recess. Each totaled $263 billion, a $14 billion increase over last year's Pentagon budget. The bill will go to Conference Committee after Recess and be put to a final vote sometime in September.

The F-22 fighter jet program is the most controversial piece of the Pentagon budget. The House bill cut funding to the F-22 program by $1.8 billion; the Senate bill kept the program fully funded. Currently, there is intense lobbying by Defense Secretary William Cohen, Lockheed-Martin (the defense contractor building the jets) and President Clinton to restore funding in the Conference version of the bill.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Tell your Senator and Representative to support the House version of the Pentagon bill and cut funding for the F-22 fighter jet. The most costly of all the fighter jet programs, the original estimated cost per fighter of $35 million has now risen to $200 million each.

LOCAL FACT: The F-22 fighter jet program would cost the people of Utica, NY $8.6 million. To find out what the fighter jet program would cost your city, see NPPs report "Choices That Matter: Federal Decisions and Your Hometown", available online at www.natprior.org.

LABOR-HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES-EDUCATION BILL: Neither the House nor the Senate Appropriations Committees have voted on the Labor-HHS-Education Bill as of the adjournment for Recess. The Senate is proposing a 9.4% cut; the House a 17.8% cut. The programs at stake in this bill, including special education, Head Start and Employment and Training, cannot afford to be cut at all.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Urge your Senator and Representative to vote against a Labor-HHS-Education Bill which cuts funding to critical programs. Let them know that balancing the budget or providing tax cuts by cutting necessary programs for our communities is unacceptable.

In late August, the National Priorities Project will publish its first online release called On the Chopping Block. This issue of our Grassroots Factbook series contains a state-by-state analysis of the impact of the proposed House and Senate cuts on 23 major programs funded in this bill. The next NPP Brief Online will provide the exact release date for this material.

The NPP Brief Online is a publication of the National Priorities Project. NPP offers citizen and community groups tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities which promote social and economic justice. NPP is a community education, research and training organization that for more than 16 years has dedicated itself to making national budget priorities something that ordinary citizens can help influence and understand.

National Priorities Project 17 New South Street, Suite 301 Northampton, MA 01060

Ph. 413-584-9556 Fax: 413-586-9647 info@natprior.org www.natprior.org

You can also help spread the word to others. Ask your coworkers, your members, and your neighbors to call. Why not write a Letter to the Editor? This is a good way to publicize the issue and reach more people.

You can reach any member of Congress through the Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121.

Thank you for your support.