339
women state legislators sign on to letter to Congress
about federal budget priorities
March 2008
WiLL
delivered this
letter on
March 10, 2008 to all Members of Congress.
 |
LEGISLATOR
TOOLKIT
Check
out the Toolkit
for everyone who signed on to the federal budget
letter to Congress! |
Here's
our press release:
Hundreds
of Women State Legislators Unite to Urge Congress to
Shift Spending in Federal Budget toward Today's True
Security Needs
March
10, 2008
Contact: Christina Cernansky| 202-544-5055 | will@wand.org
In a letter delivered to Congress in March
2008, 339 legislators from all 50 states champion
the need for a more effective “national security
budget” that responds to real threats in the
new world landscape.
Representing millions of constituents, state lawmakers
say their communities suffer when funds are shifted
away from states and first responders.
Washington, DC– Noting that the world has changed
but our national security budget has not, 338 women
state legislators from across the country joined together
to sign on to a letter delivered on March 10, 2008
to every Member of Congress. The letter urges Congress
to reevaluate the country’s security needs,
and to make significant changes in the proposed FY09
federal budget.
“The President’s budget proposal reveals
just how out of tune he is about what our country
needs for true national security,” saysSen.
Nan Grogan Orrock (GA), President of Women Legislators’
Lobby. “Our world has changed, and our federal
budget needs to address the real threats out there.”
The President proposes severe cuts to homeland security
services like first responders; and to programs that
bolster economic security, such as public health and
education.
“Our citizens need basic services to keep communities
safe," says Sen. Orrock. "This means a police
force that's properly trained; a fire department that's
adequately equipped; a hospital that’s ready
for any emergency. These things matter when a terrorist
attack – or a natural disaster -- hits. Instead,
the President keeps increasing the money we throw
to outdated, expensive, and ineffective Cold War weapons.
We know we have to have national security; and we
know that means more than a lumbering military machine."
The
letter cites the fact that the Pentagon budget is
growing at a time when funds for human needs are shrinking
-- and highlights that the growing Pentagon budget
does NOT include money being spent on the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. “That’s not even
in the proposed federal budget,” notes Sen.
Orrock. “It’s funded through supplemental
appropriations. And yet, we’re spending $720
million EACH DAY on the Iraq war. It is completely
out of control.”
In a cover letter, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
notes that “While increasing spending on unnecessary
or outdated weapons systems, the Administration’s
budget slashes funding for first responders and critical
infrastructure protection.” She continues, “According
to these state elected officials there is a pressing
need to devote more resources to protecting public
health services, improving the security of our ports
and chemical plants, and rehabilitating our public
transportation infrastructure."
State
legislators, who see daily the safety needs of their
communities, have watched federal subsidies to states
and localities shrink – as they have watched
federal tax rebates gutting the budget. This has shifted
the tax burden to the states and localities, and to
those who can least afford it. As a result, people
are often less safe than they were before, and less
able to meet their needs.
"The President’s proposed budget is more
than short-sighted," says Sen. Orrock. “It’s
dangerous. I fear that we will face a real disaster
one day – whether natural or manmade –
and we will not have the capacity to respond quickly
and adequately. We can turn this around, but only
if we face facts and make fundamental changes to the
priorities in our federal budget.”
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