NLIHC has joined the Clean Budget Coalition (CBC) —a group of more than 100 organizations—to urge Congress to reject harmful poison-pill policy riders in the FY18 spending bills. NLIHC has also joined the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) to urge Congress to pass a clean budget that promotes opportunity for all, improves basic living standards, and protects the environment. All organizations that care about budget integrity and oppose harmful policy riders and cuts to essential programs are encouraged to sign the CBC and CHN letters.
The CBC letter states, “Ideological riders are measures that the public opposes and would be unpopular to move as standalone legislation. The American people support policies to restrain Wall Street abuses and ensure safe and healthy food and products, to protect our air, land, water and wildlife, to ensure safe and fair workplaces, to prevent consumer rip-offs and corporate wrongdoing, to create fair rules of the road for our campaign finance system, to provide access to justice and fair housing, and to ensure continued access to vital health care services including reproductive health care. Contentious poison pill riders are intended to advance the priorities of special interest donors and supporters and should not be included in funding bills.”
The CHN letter states, “Rather than budget cuts, we urge you to support a budget that is an engine for economic progress. It must provide enough funding for jobs and infrastructure programs, with targeted help for low-income communities and struggling individuals, including immigrants seeking a better life. All Americans deserve the security of being able to sustain basic living standards. Our national security depends on adequate funding to reduce the threats of hunger or homelessness and to increase access to health care. Our security also depends on making sure that seniors can afford to retire without fear of inadequate food, health care, or heat for their homes. We are more secure when all our people can contribute to and benefit from our economy, including people with disabilities, and no matter our race, ethnicity, gender, or immigrant status.”
Sign onto the Clean Budget Coalition letter at: tinyurl.com/CleanBudgetFY18Letter
Read the letter at: http://bit.ly/2pCJ6bx
Read and sign onto the Coalition for Human Needs letter at: http://bit.ly/2qAPTHQ