Legislative Update: GOP Budget Undercuts Equity, Human Needs Programs, Adds More Tax Cuts

by Jan Erickson, Government Relations Director

George W. Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress pushed through a shameful $2.57 trillion budget resolution that slashes social spending, adds more than $100 billion in tax cuts over the next five years and deepens the federal deficit. This spending plan for fiscal year 2006 is morally bankrupt and we expect to see appropriations bills that would undercut an array of education, training, healthcare, nutrition, housing and other programs benefiting women and their families.

The administration claims this budget would halve the federal deficit by 2009. Closer examination by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals it would actually increase the deficit over five years by $168 billion! Tax cuts already enacted will cost $1 trillion, and extending them—as Bush proposes —would cost another $2.1 trillion. Again, the '06 tax cuts would benefit the uppermost income tier and continue draining the treasury so GOP leaders can say disingenuously that no money exists for human needs programs.

In addition to $212 billion in painful reductions to discretionary programs (non-entitlement programs other than Homeland Security and defense) over the next five years, the GOP budget eliminates about 150 programs that expand educational opportunities, advance equity and support basic human needs. A total of $30 billion is sliced from "mandatory" programs (programs the government must fund for any individual who meets the eligibility requirements) like Medicaid—the principal source of health care for 53 million people, including women with no other source for reproductive health care, low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

The Republican budget also makes deep cuts to the No Child Left Behind Act, Head Start, student financial aid, food stamps, women and infant nutrition programs, TANF (welfare), child support collection and the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families.

Military Spending Morphs

In mid-May, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a whopping $441.6 billion defense bill, including an additional $50 billion for continuation in '06 of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress authorized $82 billion in early May for Iraq, Afghanistan and tsunami relief. Adding the war supplemental to the '06 budget plan brings the federal deficit this year to a staggering $398 billion!

Budget Battle Footnote

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) offered an amendment to place the Senate on record as supporting $100 million in increased public funding for FY 06 for the National Family Planning Program (Title X) and for the Emergency Contraceptive Education Act and to enact the Equity in Prescription Insurance Contraceptive Coverage Act, among other things. The amendment (drawn from the Prevention First Act, S. 20) was rejected, 47-53. The vote was just one more illustration that many politicians do not want to help prevent unintended pregnancies, but harass women about abortion instead.

Dangerous Bill Restricts Teen Access

In late April, the House passed (270-157) a more restrictive version of the so-called Child Custody Protection Act that criminalizes the act of an adult other than a parent accompanying a minor across state lines in violation of the home state's parental involvement laws to obtain abortion services. The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (H.R. 748) imposes confusing mandates on doctors and parents and makes it almost impossible for a teen to get a judicial bypass when there is incest or fear about parental violence. The measure, which abortion rights advocates renamed the Teen Endangerment Act, is on the Senate calendar and could be taken up at any time.

Social Security Stumble

Bush continues his national tour to convince the public that Social Security needs to be privatized, but the public is not buying it. Polls now show the majority does not support allowing persons under age 55 to divert 4 percent of their payroll taxes to private investment accounts. By two-to-one, poll respondents doubt that investing in the stock market is a good alternative to guaranteed, inflation-proofed social insurance. But Republican propagandists are not through yet. They will spend tens of millions of dollars raised by Wall Street firms, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers to attempt fooling workers into believing that private investment accounts will provide a secure retirement. Hearings on Republican legislation have begun in both the House and Senate.

Bush made it clear he intends to address the long-range solvency problem with deep cuts in benefits that would result in cutting retirement benefits almost in half by the year 2065. Even disabled persons and children who receive benefits when a working parent dies or becomes disabled would see cuts. So much for the compassionate conservative!

With risky private accounts added into the mix, only 30 percent of the solvency gap would be closed over a 75-year period.

Damaging Bankruptcy Bill Passes

It was a sad commentary on how much power the banking and credit card industries holds over Congress when the Senate voted March 10 (74-25) to pass a one-sided, regressive bankruptcy bill (S. 256). After eight years of intensive lobbying and more than $100 million in campaign contributions, the industry finally got a bill that expands their power and forces many debtors to file under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code forcing them to pay back most of their debts. Eligibility for filing under Chapter 7 where debts can be erased will be more restrictive.

Because debtors now have to meet a wide range of payback requirements, fewer funds will be available to meet priority obligations such as past-due child support. Additionally, under this bill, many persons in financial trouble may lose their homes, cars and important household possessions formerly protected under bankruptcy law. Those most vulnerable are divorced women, older persons and African-American and Latino homeowners as well as persons who face huge medical expenses. Not approved in the Senate bill was a provision closing a loophole that allows clinic violence defendants to declare bankruptcy and avoid paying fines, penalties and damages assessed in court cases.

A recent analysis completed by Harvard medical and legal scholars show that about half of the 1.5 million bankruptcies (affecting up to 2.2 million persons) in 2001 were due, at least in part, to debts resulting from medical bills – even though most debtors had some health insurance.

Minimum Wage Defeated Again

A further demonstration of how little the GOP cares about low-income working families was the defeat (49-46) during the bankruptcy debate of Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) amendment to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 in three steps to $7.75 an hour over two years. Working a 40 hour week, minimum wage earners currently make $10,712 annually – figure that puts a family of three $5,000 below the poverty line. More than 60 percent of minimum wage workers are women.

Class Action Litigation Limited

Despite the dedicated efforts of civil rights, consumer rights and women's right advocates to defeat the so-called Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (S. 5), legislation that would greatly limit the ability of groups to bring lawsuits was passed by both the Senate (72-26) and House (279-149) in February and signed into law on Feb. 18 [P.L. No. 109-2]. The new law will push class action lawsuits from state courts to federal courts where plaintiffs – including victims of employment discrimination or unsafe prescription drugs and devices -- will have a more difficult time winning their cases as federal judges tend to favor powerful defendants like large corporations.

Marriage Amendment Threat Looms

In March, NOW launched a series of meetings with members of Congress to urge them to oppose the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) banning same-sex marriage. In late March, another bill calling for a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a legal union of a man and a woman was introduced by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) that also contains a provision forbidding any state or federal court to determine whether the Constitution or any state constitution permits same-sex marriages! It seems that right-wing political leaders are now very fearful that constitutional provisions that guarantee equal treatment could be utilized to protect same-sex marriage rights. To date, two Senate hearings by backers of the FMA have been held.

Title IX Attack

The Department of Education issued a policy guidance that significantly weakens Title IX mandates for schools' and universities' athletic programs.

The new guidance relaxes what were once rigorous requirements for schools to show that they are offering equal athletic opportunities. Educational institutions may now send out an email survey to female student asking about their interest in sports. If the survey shows that young women are not interested in sports, they don't have to provide these sports programs, and will be found in compliance with Title IX.

NOW and other Title IX advocates say this is an unfair and insufficient effort to assure equal opportunities in athletics as students must be given an opportunity to actually participate or be invited by coaches or other athletes.