New report shows Montana would suffer under House budget plan

The U.S. House of Representatives' approach to the federal budget fails those who are struggling most, according to a new report by the Coalition on Human Needs for the SAVE for All campaign.

This report shows how the proposed budget cuts would both harm individuals as well as damage the country's economic recovery. Ultimately, the biggest deficit-reduction measure is an expanding economy, with more people working and paying taxes, according to the report, A Better Budget for All: Saving Our Economy and Helping Those in Need.

Montana Women Vote released the report in partnership with The Coalition on Human Needs to help launch the Strengthening America's Values and Economy for All Campaign, or SAVE for All. SAVE for All is supported by more than 1,000 organizations across the country, including Montana Women Vote.

Tens of thousands of Montanans would suffer under the House plan for the rest of fiscal year 2011. "Families in Montana are already struggling. Balancing the budget on the backs of women, children, and seniors is not only inhumane it simply does not make sense for our future," said Alysha Goheen Jannotta, director of Montana Women Vote, a coalition that works to engage low-income women in the democratic process.

The report also analyzes current proposals for changing the federal budget process, pointing out that all of them share a common flaw: they reject revenue increases as part of a balanced solution for reducing the federal deficit and debt. The report calls on Congress to look at the entire federal budget -- including revenues, tax loopholes, and military spending -- not just domestic annual appropriations.

"Cutting only from a portion of domestic spending that constitutes less than a fifth of our total budget simply cannot solve our federal deficit and debt, but it will cause enormous pain and cripple our economic future," said Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of national organizations that promotes public policies to address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations.

Examples of what the House cuts would mean for Montana include:
• Nearly 700 young children would not be able to receive Head Start services
• $ 15 million would be cut from Pell Grants affecting all 24,000 students with those grants in Montana.
• $3.3 million would be cut in job training and employment funds. The cut would end services in the coming year for 600 dislocated workers, 21,000 low-income adults and 700 youth age 14 to 21.

The report calls for any deficit reduction plan to take a long-term approach that does not rely primarily on cuts in domestic appropriations, (which are not the cause of the ballooning federal deficit), and includes equitable revenue increases.

"Montana families are already threatened with significant state budget cuts to education and basic services. When looking at balancing the state or national budget, it's critical that solutions to the economic crisis take a balanced approach and do not place an unfair financial burden on low-income families," said Ms. Jannotta.

To read the complete report visit www.chn.org.