Congress: No cuts to programs Americans need to survive!

I’m alarmed that there are proposals before Congress right now that would substantially cut vital programs such as SNAP nutrition assistance, Medicaid, and the full range of annually appropriated domestic and international needs. These cuts would threaten our economy. Moody’s Analytics economist Mark Zandi and colleagues warn that deep spending cuts could trigger "a recession in 2024, costing the economy 2.6 million jobs at the worst of the downturn and pushing unemployment to a peak of near 6 percent." No way! Instead of cutting, we must strengthen these investments. Putting the needs of people with the lowest incomes first is both a moral and an economic imperative. It is critical that policies do more to address longstanding disparities by race and income, including maternal mortality, food insecurity, and gaps in access to affordable and accessible housing, health care, and education, along with addressing challenges for women, children and youth, older adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA individuals, survivors of violence, veterans, rural communities, and others. Deep cuts to anti-poverty policies will take us backwards and make us less able to sustain future economic growth. Responsible budget choices mean support for increasing revenues from wealthy individuals and corporations, both by collecting what they owe under current law and by fair new tax policies targeting the wealthiest and corporations. Responsibility also requires you to reduce wasteful spending. Congress can do this through strategies such as expanding drug price negotiations, reducing excessive payments for corporate military contractors, and limiting detention and incarceration. With fair and adequate revenues plus well-targeted savings that do not reduce needed services, Congress can fund the investments we need and still make substantial reductions in the deficit. Please do that. Thanks.