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"...