DeLauro Calls On Congress to Reject Deeply Harmful Budget Cuts

Votes against Legislation Making Last Friday's CutsPermanent

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) releasedthe following statement today after voting against a bill that would makepermanent the harmful, across-the-board budget cuts that went into effect lastweek. The legislation also fails to address critical budget challenges facingnutrition programs, health care, Head Start and child care, just to name a few.

"I strongly oppose this bill, which makes permanent thedeep, harmful across-the-board cuts enacted last week. The cuts will cost ourcountry hundreds of thousands of jobs and hamstring our economic recovery. Theywill slash vital government services for children, women, seniors, and smallbusinesses. And they will fall heaviest on our most vulnerable families.

"Both the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office andFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have argued that these cuts could cost usas many as 750,000 jobs. This bill makes all of these dangerous cutspermanent. Every single common-sense priority of the American people andresponsibility of good government will be slashed.

"This bill does support vital procurements for our nationalsecurity and defense manufacturing base, and it provides funding for importantDepartment of Defense research. But that does not make up for all the damagecaused.

"We cannot shortchange our fundamental priorities. It is arecipe for disaster. And it is an abdication of our responsibilities as thepeople's representatives. It is time to start using our budget as a vehicle forjob creation and economic growth, and pass one that protects the middle-class,our seniors, and the most vulnerable."

DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommitteeresponsible for funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services andEducation. Last month she issued a reportdetailing the effects of the deep budget cuts known as sequestration, alongwith already-made cuts, to programs in those departments.

A few of the cuts made permanent by this legislationinclude:

• $400 million to Head Start, resulting in as many as 70,000 children losing access
• $282 million from job training programs, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Americans losing access to these services in a very tough job market
• $730 from low-income schools, resulting in 2,500 schools being forced to stop providing crucial aid to one million children
• Over $580 million from Special Education grants, costing as many as 7,000 teachers, aids and staff their jobs
• $115 million from child care, resulting in roughly 30,000 kids losing aid