[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4241, DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                            of conneciticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2005

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about how this legislation 
is out of step with mainstream American values. I would like to submit 
for the Record the text of a letter sent to every Member of the House 
from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reflecting the 
misguided values that this bill embodies.
                                              Department of Social


                                  Development and World Peace,

                                 Washington, DC, November 8, 2005.
     U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: When Congress began the process of 
     developing the 2006 budget for the United States government 
     last February, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 
     president Bishop William Skylstad urged Members of Congress 
     to remember that budget ``decisions will reflect not only 
     economic policies but moral choices as well,'' and urged 
     Congress ``to give priority attention in the budget to the 
     needs of poor and vulnerable people both here and abroad.''
       As the House now takes up its budget reconciliation bill, 
     we write to reiterate the Conference's priorities and to 
     share our views on how that bill may impact several key 
     programs and the people they serve. We are guided by Catholic 
     moral principles: respect for human life and dignity; the 
     importance of family and the value of work; an option for the 
     poor and the call to participation; and the principles of 
     subsidiarity and solidarity. We also draw upon the Church's 
     experience living with, and serving the poor among us. As 
     perhaps the largest non-governmental provider of health care 
     and human services to vulnerable people, the Catholic 
     community meets the poor in our soup kitchens, Catholic 
     Charities agencies and health care facilities.
       We are deeply disappointed by the budget reconciliation 
     proposal before the House of Representatives, in particular, 
     its lack of concern for children. Below are specific examples 
     of programs that serve vulnerable people--often children--
     that will lose funds if this legislation passes in its 
     current form.
       Food Stamp Program: The House reconciliation bill includes 
     harmful cuts to the Food Stamp program that will result in 
     taking food away from people, including children, who are 
     being helped now. This would be objectionable anytime, but it 
     is particularly unfair at this time. Recently, USDA reported 
     an increase to 38 million in the number of Americans 
     suffering from hunger or living in homes that are on the edge 
     of hunger. This includes nearly 14 million children. Nearly 
     300,000 people in low-income working families will lose Food 
     Stamp assistance if this bill becomes law and some 40,000 
     children in those families will no longer be eligible for 
     free school meals. Many of those denied Food Stamps will be 
     legal immigrants. We were strong supporters of President 
     Bush's successful effort to expand access to Food Stamps for 
     legal immigrants in the last farm bill. We strongly oppose 
     the effort to roll back this expansion, by making legal 
     immigrants wait an additional 2 years for eligibility.
       Health Care for the Poor: We recognize and affirm the 
     sanctity of human life from conception to natural death and 
     consider access to adequate health care to be a basic human 
     right. No person should be denied access to needed health 
     care because of inability to pay. We oppose the provisions 
     in the bill that would allow states to increase the burden 
     of co-payments, deductibles and premiums on Medicaid 
     beneficiaries--including some children and pregnant women. 
     Health care providers would be allowed to deny services to 
     those who cannot pay these amounts. Another proposal would 
     allow states wide latitude to choose which medical 
     services it will offer to different groups of low- income 
     people. It is important to maintain a federal standard of 
     core benefits, necessary for the maintenance of good 
     health, to which all Medicaid beneficiaries are entitled.
       The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that these 
     provisions will save $6.2 billion over five years (and $28.2 
     billion over ten years), precisely because they will cause 
     people eligible for Medicaid to get less of the health care 
     they need. This attempt to save money by making it harder for 
     low- income and vulnerable people to get the health care they 
     need is simply unacceptable.
       Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The House 
     reconciliation bill includes the House bill to reauthorize 
     the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare 
     program. We reiterate our concern that the House approach to 
     TANF reauthorization increases the work requirements on all 
     TANF recipients, generally single mothers, and repeals the 
     rule allowing a lower work requirement for mothers of 
     children under 6 years old. While the House reconciliation 
     bill does include small increases in child care funding, the 
     amount is insufficient to pay for current child care services 
     given inflation, let alone cover the need for additional 
     child care created by increasing the TANF work requirements. 
     We are also disappointed that the bill does not restore TANF 
     benefit eligibility to recently-arrived legal immigrants. 
     However, we note our support for funding programs--separate 
     from the basic block grant--to promote marriage and healthy 
     families (although we believe it would be better to target 
     this spending on marriage and family services for low-income 
     families).
       Child Support Funds: The House reconciliation bill cuts 
     Federal funding for state child support services which will 
     make it harder for states to collect child support for low 
     and moderate-income families. According to CBO extimates, 
     over the course of ten years families could receive $21 
     billion less in child support payments. Child support 
     payments can be crucial to the economic viability of some 
     families, keeping them out of poverty and off public 
     programs. They also encourage parental responsibility and can 
     help to maintain the connection between children and their 
     non-custodial parent. Undermining the collection of child 
     support is not good for children or families.
       Agricultural Programs: We are disappointed that the 
     reconciliation bill reduces spending on key conservation 
     programs. The bishops have stated that protecting God's 
     creation must be a central goal of agricultural policies, and 
     our conference supports policies that promote soil 
     conservation, Improve water quality, protect wildlife, and 
     maintain biodiversity.
       The bishops' conference also endorses targeting limited 
     government resources for direct federal payments and other 
     forms of domestic agricultural support to small and moderate-
     sized farms, to help them through difficult times caused by 
     periodic price shocks or unpredictable natural disasters, 
     such as the recent hurricanes. Limiting U.S. farm supports 
     and targeting them to those who need them the most would also 
     increase the possibility that poor farmers around the world 
     would be able to sell their products and support their 
     families. We would welcome efforts to begin the process of 
     redirecting agricultural subsidies to those most in need.
       We urge you to remember that the federal budget is more 
     than a fiscal plan; it reflects our values as a people. 
     Budget choices have clear moral and human dimensions. A just 
     society is one that protects and promotes the fundamental 
     rights of its members--with special attention to meeting the 
     basic needs, including the need for safe and affordable 
     health care, of the poor and underserved. In these difficult 
     times, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urges 
     you to work for a budget that does not neglect the needs of 
     the ``least of these'' in our nation and the world.
           Sincerely in Christ,
     Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio,
       Bishop of Brooklyn, Chairman, Domestic Policy Committee.
     Most Rev. John Ricard, SSJ,
       Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Chairman, International 
     Policy Committee.

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