Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Shocking Stats on the Proposed Budget Cuts

Critical U.S. Senate Votes this Week:
Tell your Senators to Vote NO on the Harsh House Cuts (H.R. 1)
The Senate is expected to vote this week on alternative plans to approve spending for the rest of this year. They will vote on whether to agree to the extreme cuts passed by the House (h.R. 1) - $65 billion less than last year's spending for domestic programs. The House bill will deny vital services to millions of people, from young children to seniors. Please tell your Senators to VOTE NO on H.R. 1 and to vote FOR the Senate alternative. The proposed Senate bill cuts spending $6.5 billion below last year's levels, compared to more than $80 billion in cuts in H.R. 1. most of the extreme cuts in the House plan listed below are not made in the Senate bill.
Call NOW toll-free 888-245-0215 (the vote could be as early as Tuesday) Please call both your Senators and tell them to VOTE NO on H.R. 1 and FOR the Senate full-year FY 2011 bill. Tell them to vote NO on harsh and unprecedented cuts that will deny health care, education, food, housing, and jobs to millions of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans, while at the same time jeopardizing the economic recovery for all.


The House-passed cuts would be the largest one-year cuts in history. That is why it is so important that you call your Senators. Please forward this message to your networks.

If the House plan were to become law:
- 218,000 young children would not be able to receive Head Start services.
- 10,000 people with long-term disabilities would lose their current rental assistance; most will be forced out of their homes.
- 11 million patients would lose health care they've received at Community Health Centers (for more than 3 million, the loss of health care would be almost immediate)
- 20 million people, including 5 million children, 2.3 million seniors and 1.7 million people with disabilities, would lose some or all of the anti-poverty help now provided by community action agencies.
- 9.4 million low-income college students would lose some or all their Pell Grants.
- 8 million adults and youth woudl lose access to job training and other employment services.
- 81,000 low-income people, mostly seniors, would no longer receive supplemental food packages.
- 1.2 million poor households in public housing will see their rental units deteriorate further because of cuts to maintenance and repairs; some units will no longer be habitable.
That's not all. Many thousands of jobs would be lost (for example: 10,000 teachers, 5,000 health care staff, 55,000 Head Start staff). And the cuts would slow down the economy, threatening our fragile economic recovery, and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs, just as we've started to make some progress. And remember: there are far smarter ways to reduce the deficit. A combination of fair revenue increases (examples worth many billions: collect more revenue now sheltered offshore, end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy) and reductions in wasteful spending (many examples in the militray, as well as oil and gas industry subsidies, etc.) can reduce without hurting those most in need or threatening the economy.


Your calls will make a difference!
A big vote against the House plan will help protect the vulnerable and the economy as Congress continues to negotiate. Your silence will mean the cuts will be worse. It's as simple as that.
Interested in supporting the Federal Line Item that supports youth education & social programs? Please Call Senator Scott Brown 617-565-3170 and voice your concern about proposed budget cuts to the Federal Line Item for Community Block Grants, AmeriCorps, Department of Education, EPA, NPR, family planning, HeadStart, YouthBuild and all the other programs support us here in the US.

We spend $70 million on war per day, end the war and support our communities!


Be a Part of the CHANGE! Please sign the petition on change.org!

In the dead of night on Saturday, a Tea Party-driven group of House members voted to kill AmeriCorps, completely eliminating all funding. With a potential government shutdown looming on March 4th, the fate of 85,000 AmeriCorp community organizers, teachers, and tutors will now be decided by the U.S. Senate. 
After hearing the shocking news, former AmeriCorps volunteer Caleb Jonas decided he had to do something. From a coffee shop in Massachusetts, Caleb logged in to Change.org from his laptop and created a petition asking Congress to "Save AmeriCorps." Caleb’s inspiring action has already been signed by more than 90,000 Americans.
Thank you for adding your signature to Caleb's "Save AmeriCorps" petition. We're closing in on 100,000 signatures -- a huge statement at this pivotal moment -- and we need your urgent help to make this critical goal.

Please forward this email and ask friends and family to add their names to Caleb’s "Save AmeriCorps" petition and help him reach 100,000 signatures to the Senate ASAP.
Why does Caleb care so much about AmeriCorps? Because he spent a year improving the quality of tutoring programs for low-income kids in Minnesota -- and witnessed AmeriCorps members build houses for Habitat for Humanity, help political refugees start new lives, improve reading test scores for elementary school students, and help disadvantaged high school students get into college.

As Caleb told us over the phone, it breaks his heart that this vital national service program could be shut down at a time when people in the most marginalized communities in America need it the most. That’s why Caleb was inspired to start his "Save AmeriCorps" petition -- and why AmeriCorps supporters are sharing it on Facebook and forwarding messages like this to their friends around the country.

With AmeriCorps on the chopping block, it’s time for all of us to stand up for Caleb and thousands of other volunteers who have committed years of their lives to community service. Please forward this email to friends and family and ask them to join you in telling the Senate not to kill AmeriCorps: 

http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps?alert_id=TdPLdiPsal_QBNIJPXxfs&me=aa

Thank you for joining Caleb and Change.org members across our country fighting to save AmeriCorps before it’s too late.

- Patrick and the Change.org team

P.S.  A coalition of grassroots organizations are planning a "Save Service District Day" for this Friday, where supporters of AmeriCorps and National Service will visit local House and Senate offices to ask members of Congress to save funding for crucial service programs. Click here to get involved in actions near you:
http://www.saveservice.org/

Who is YouthBuild New Bedford?

The New Bedford branch of the Youthbuild Organization is a program focused on getting young men and women in the Southcoast area involved in their community in a variety of ways. This program is unique because it allows its members to receive their GED, along with other certifications, while giving them an opportunity to participate in volunteer work at the same time. Youthbuild practices teaching, leadership, responsibility, and friendship to youth looking to change their life for the better.

YouthBuild offers:
-GED Prep Classes
-First Aid and CPR Certification
-Internship Opportunities
-OSHA Certification
-Volunteer/Community Work
-and several other services

Due to the recent economic crisis in the United States, many programs such as Youthbuild face the threat of disappearing for good. With support from you, even only on Facebook, we can take steps towards ensuring that this program, which is so vital to the spirit of New Bedford, stays alive. Please show support, attend our events, contact us, make a donation, do anything you can to help us avoid losing this program! Every little bit counts.

YouthBuild New Bedford can be contacted at
(508)984-3558 or at newbedfordyouthbuild@yahoo.com