Federal budget: Policy solutions

This spring Congress needs to approve funding for the current fiscal year, ending September 30, 2011.

While it is important to tackle the growing deficit, this must be done by addressing its root causes, including rising health care costs, the inability of Social Security and Medicare to keep up with an aging population and the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As cuts are focused on the 15 percent of the budget committed to assisting those affected by poverty, vulnerable populations already on the margins will bear the greatest burden for balancing the nation’s deficit – despite the fact that they have not contributed to the root causes of the national debt.

Crafting a budget should be done with the goal of relieving such injustices, not compounding them. Funds that meet basic needs often provide a strong economic return because they go directly back into the economy. Therefore, such programs not only address economic injustice, they are smart policy. For example, although military investments do create jobs, investments in health care, education and clean energy consistently create more jobs per dollar invested.

Policymakers urgently need to hear that programs that meet basic human needs and support the wellbeing of communities in the United States and around the world must be protected. Click here to tell your Senators to create a budget which both reduces poverty and increases economic viability by supporting human needs worldwide.

In addition to the funding bill for the current fiscal year, the President has submitted his budget request for the next fiscal year. Over the coming months Congress will consider this request and make their own proposals. This is usually a lengthy process, concluding with the passage of twelve appropriations bills in the fall. Throughout this process it is important for policymakers to hear your perspective on what the budget should look like.