DeLauro, Miller Release Report Detailing Harsh Impact of Republican Budget Cuts, Sequestration on Children and Families

WASHINGTON, DC—Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) andGeorge Miller (D-CA) today released a report detailing the harsh impact ofRepublican budget cuts on children and families.

Since Republicans took control of the House ofRepresentatives in January 2011, programs such as Head Start, special educationand mental health services have been slashed by billions of dollars, at a timewhen they are most needed. Government agencies forced to close October 1 as aresult of the Republican Government Shutdown have only exacerbated the problem.Meanwhile, Republicans refused repeated offers to replace the across the boardbudget cuts, known as sequestration, with a balanced approach to deficitreduction that Democrats have offered.

The report can be viewed at /sites/evo-subsites/delauro-evo.house.gov/files/migrated/images/pdf/children_and_families_first_since_2010_print_booklet_legal.pdf.

"This report makes crystal clear, through hard numbers andpersonal stories from across the country, how children and families haveshouldered the brunt of Republican budget cuts," DeLauro and Miller said. "Evenbefore sequestration took effect, deficit reduction was taking place on thebacks of poor and middle class Americans. This madness must stop. Congressneeds to get America back to the business of helping the economy grow andenabling America's children and families to succeed, not mindlessly tearingdown services that are critical to millions of people across the country."

Vital government services that keep Americans out ofpoverty, or help lift them out of it, have borne the brunt of budget cuts madein the name of deficit reduction. For example:

· Grants for high-poverty schools were cut by $756million in just 2013, despite the number of children living in poverty havinggrown by over five percent in the last decade.

· More than five million fewer meals were servedto low income seniors in 2013 due to sequestration. Nearly 15 percent ofseniors face the threat of hunger.

· More than 57,000 children have lost access toHead Start this year because of sequestration. There have also been significantservice reductions, such as shorter hours of operation and fewer staff.

· More than 67 percent of adults, and nearly 80percent of children, do not receive needed mental health services. Still,substance abuse and mental health services programs are facing a 19 percent cutas a result of sequestration and other budget cuts made since 2010, onceadjusted for inflation and population.

DeLauro is senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsiblefor funding labor, health and education programs. Miller is the senior Democraton the Committee for Education and the Workforce.