February 9, 1998
Activists: If you live in one of the states listed below, please take a few minutes to call your Senator. You may be able to help restore funding for vitally needed child care and early education programs. Please take the time to read the short summary and make that call. Thanks for your attention and we will keep you posted.
Here's the Problem: No sooner had new proposals been announced for dramatically expanding child care services, Head Start and after-school programs funded by as much as $30 billion, than budget-cutters got to work. Eyeing the billions which may (or may not) become available from a national tobacco settlement or a $1.50 per pack tax on tobacco, Congressional budget officials now want to spend much of that revenue on other programs -- not child care. They are proposing to reduce it to a mere fraction the total amount: $7.5 billion! Only a swift and loud outcry from parents and supporters of child care and early education programs can get the budgeteers back on track. Please note: regardless of whether funding from tobacco comes on stream, federal resources for child care assistance must be found. This is an area of social services and family assistance too long neglected.
By way of quick background, the Clinton administration announced in January a series of bold moves to expand the availability of child care services, to improve the quality of many programs, to establish new early learning programs and to make the highly successful Head Start program accessible to more eligible poor children. The president proposed to spend $21.7 billion. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) proposes to spend up to $30 billion for such programs in his newly introduced Health and Smoke Free Children Act (S. 1492), while Sen. Chris Dodd would like to spend $15 billion on child care programs through his Child Care A.C.C.E.S.S. Act (S. 1610), which is co-sponsored by 24 Senators.
How to help: Please ask your senator to let Senator Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD) and Sen. Kent Conrad (ND) know that $7.5 billion is flatly inadequate. Ask them to restore the amount to at least $22 billion. There is still time if we act quickly to get the level increased.
Senators, all Democrats, who need to be called now in Washington, D.C. at area code (202) are: Max Baucus (MT), 224-2651; Jeff Bingaman (NM), 224-5521; Barbara Boxer (CA), 224-3553; John Breaux (LA), 224-4623; Kent Conrad (ND), 224-2043; Tom Daschle (SD), 224-2321; Christopher Dodd (CT), 224-2823; Byron Dorgan (ND), 224-2551; Dick Durbin (IL), 224-2152; Russell Feingold (WI), 224-5323; Wendell Ford (KY), 224-4343; Bob Graham (FL), 224-3041; Tom Harkin (IA), 224-3254; Ernest Hollings (SC), 224-6121; Daniel Inouye (HI), 224-3934; Bob Kerrey (NE), 224-6551; Frank Lautenberg, 224-4744; Patrick Leahy (VT), 224-4242; Barbara Mikulski (MD), 224-4654; Carol Moseley-Braun, 224-2854; Patrick Moynihan (NY), 224-4451; Patty Murray (WA), 224-2621; Jack Reed (RI), 224-4642; Harry Reid (NV), 224-3542; Robert Torricelli (NJ), 224-3224; Paul Wellstone (MN), 224-5641 and Ron Wyden (OR), 224-5244.
Senators' email addresses can be found at: http://www.senate.gov/senator/membmail.html