Talking Points for Call-In Day Sept 9



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Roll Back The Rents

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September 8, 2005



---CALL IN DAYS TO SAVE THE DOMESTIC HUMANITARIAN

PROGRAMS---

Talking Points For Call In Days Of Sept 8-9

Toll Free #1-800-426-8073

[Phone number only good on Sept 8 & 9]

The Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) is organizing

Call-In Days to oppose budget cuts for Thursday,

September 8 and Friday, September 9. CHN is calling on

people to let their Congressional representatives know

that they oppose further cuts in essential health and

human needs programs. The American Friends Service

Committee is donating a toll-free line to connect

people to Capitol Hill on the call-in days:

1-800-426-8073.

These pigs in the House and Senate plan to take

funding from SSI for the disabled and money from The

WICK Program which feeds infants!

---$35 Billion In Budget Cuts Expected For Domestic

Programs---

(The final votes take place during mid to late

September)

On April 27, 2005 -- Congress approved a $2.6 trillion

federal budget for Fiscal Year 2006 that lays the

groundwork for $10 billion in cuts to Medicaid, as

much as $3 billion in cuts to Food Stamps, and

billions in other mandatory program cuts.

The budget would make room for $100 billion in tax

cuts - while cutting $212 billion over the next five

years to domestic discretionary programs. Cuts to

education, veteran's health care, community

development, workforce training, child care, Head

Start, nutrition assistance for pregnant women and

children, home energy assistance and environmental

programs, and many others fall under this category.

1) The budget includes instructions to specific

committees in the House and Senate to find $35 billion

in cuts to mandatory programs over the next five

years. (Mandatory programs are not appropriated

annually.)

2) Under the budget resolution, Medicaid must be cut

by $10 billion over the next five years. The Senate

Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce

Committee are directed to produce a bill by September

that will make these cuts.

3) Food Stamps are also at risk. The House and Senate

Agriculture Committee have instructions to cut $3

billion from programs under their jurisdiction – which

includes farm subsidies as well as Food Stamps and

other nutrition programs.

4) The resolution also assumes cuts to other

committees including $12.7 billion in cuts to the

House Education and Workforce Committee and $13.7

billion to the Senate Health Education, Labor and

Pensions (HELP) Committee.

5) Student loan programs, also within the jurisdiction

of Education and Workforce and HELP, could be tapped

for cuts. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

estimates that student loans could be cut as much as

$7 billion over five years.

Call your Representatives now to oppose further budget

cuts!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Call Now To Save Section 8!!!

House Bill Places 28,000 Section 8 Vouchers At Risk

[Big Difference Between House & Senate Housing Bills]

[Activists support Senate Bill over the House Bill]

Call Representatives To Oppose House Bill, -- HR

3058

Tell Representatives to support Senate Bill, -- S

1446

[Toll Free # 1/888/818-6641 Is good immediately]

[Final vote to reconcile both bills into one bill,

takes place during mid to late September]

[The House Bill, HR 3058 and Senate's bill, S 1446]

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)

provides roughly two million low-income households

with vouchers they can use to rent housing in the

private market.

A) [On August 24, 2005 -- According to the Center on

Budget and Policy Priorities]

The Center's analysis of HUD data shows that under the

House approach, more than 1,000 agencies would receive

less than the amount they need to maintain vouchers

currently in use, placing nearly 28,000 vouchers at

risk of being cut. At the same time, some 541

agencies would be overfunded by a total of $79

million. Since agencies are not allowed to use excess

funds to create additional vouchers, this $79 million

— enough money to fund nearly 12,000 vouchers — would

essentially be wasted.

Call your Representatives now to oppose further budget

cuts!



HOUSING NEWS UPDATE



---Katrina Victims Move Ahead In Section 8 Lines---

Katrina's victims are flooding the Section 8 program

across the nation, as those presently on the Public

Housing/Section 8 waiting lists must now wait that

much longer... See articles below from Omaha World

Herald and Salt Lake Tribune...

New Katrina victim Section 8 voucher holders may soon

find themselves being double crossed, because when the

cuts take place from a lack of funding from HUD, it

has been the practice to take the vouchers from the

newest voucher holders across the nation...

Meanwhile, the House & Senate are about to place

28,000 vouchers at risk and underfund 1,000 housing

authorities across the nation unless people speak out

in opposition. Oakland Housing Authority Director, Jon

Gresly, favors the Senate bill over the House bill

because it saves 1,000 Section 8 vouchers from being

cut from Oakland. See article, "Evacuees may find

Section 8 aid is lacking"...