HungerNetOhio #8.7: Supplications for the “Super Committee”

Email conversations about "ending hunger in Ohio through changing conditions which cause poverty"

QUICK VIEW: For those who ask, “WHAT'S GOING ON?”

Tomorrow is the deadline for Congressional Committees to submit their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (known as the "Super Committee"). Drastic cuts have been proposed including the "orderly elimination" of AmeriCorps and VISTA programs (many of which impact the most economically disadvantages Ohioans), cuts of 22% to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, 20% to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and severe limitations to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) ability to expand to meet need and allow for meager savings.

The Super committee will continue working on an overall plan to reduce the federal deficit. Essential programs for low-income and vulnerable people are threatened with cuts: Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP (formerly the Food Stamp Program), the Earned Income Tax Credit, and others. Cutting these programs will make things worse, not better. People will be hurt; more jobs will be lost.

Right now: Yet today or early tomorrow

REACH OUT TO SENATOR BROWN, SENATOR PORTMAN AND YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATE TO TELL CONGRESS (*): Tell them not to cuts in the nutritional safety net or National Service programs such AmeriCorps and VISTA. Call toll-free (1-877-698-8228)

Very soon (Deadline October 20)

COMBINE YOU VOICE WITH OTHER ADVOCATES FOR JUSTICE BY SENDING A JOINT MESSAGE TO CONGRESS: Sign onto Advocates for Ohio's Future letter that cutting major health, human service, and early care & education programs that serve the most vulnerable is not the answer to the nation's budget problems. Go online to make your endorsement (http://go.advocatesforohio.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6373)

Right Now

The October 14 deadline for Committees to provide recommendations to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, but right now the political threats and opportunities are multiple and ongoing, and so we must continue our steady drumbeat about protecting anti-hunger programs at every possible opportunity. Because the Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill was significantly better than the House version, it is important we continue to register our support right now to get the best possible outcome.

• The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks urges Senator Brown and Portman to vote for passage of the Senate's FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations legislation when it comes to the Senate floor in the coming weeks and to oppose any amendments that would strip funding from valuable food assistance programs.
• They need to know that food banks ability to serve your community is at stake. This bill funds programs such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) which are critical to addressing hunger in low-income families all across the state.
• Hunger is a real problem in Ohio]. With unemployment stuck above 9% nationally and millions of families struggling to find work or working for reduced wages, the need for food assistance in our community remains incredibly high. Protecting anti-hunger programs throughout the budget process is critical to reducing hunger in our state.

One out of every four children in Ohio are hungry - They cannot wait while politicians debate.

1. DO NOT eliminate National Service

• Urge that they fund the Corporation for National and Community Service fully at $1.26 billion.

Request that they do not eliminate over 80,000 AmeriCorps positions, leaving a gaping hole in our communities and stripping dedicated National Service members of the meager living allowance they receive in return for dedicating a year of their lives to fight poverty in our communities!

2. DO NOT recommend any cuts to the nutrition safety net. Rather:

• Provide $181.8 million for CSFP in FY2012 to maintain current caseloads and allow CSFP to expand into six additional states with USDA approved state plans.
• Maintain current funding for TEFAP mandatory commodities in FY 2012 and provide an increase in mandatory funding during consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill to ensure a steady supply of commodities for foodbanks.
• Provide $100 million for TEFAP administrative funds in FY 2012 to support the infrastructure and distribution capacity necessary to meet current levels of need.
• Allocate special funding this year to support EFSP in FY2011 and return funding levels to at least $200 million in FY2012.
• Oppose proposals to block grant SNAP, cap funding, impose restrictive work requirements or otherwise reduce benefits or restrict participation.

Very Soon

Advocates for Ohio's Future is coordinating a Federal Sign-On Letter to help statewide associations, social service providers, and nonprofit and faith-based organizations across Ohio send a message to Congress about the federal budget. Click here to sign on.

The goal of the letter is to strengthen the resolve of Senator Portman and other key members of Ohio's Congressional delegation to advocate for a deficit-reduction plan that does not increase poverty or income inequality. We can influence the debate by asking Ohio's Congressional delegation to:

• Protect vulnerable children, families, seniors, and people with disabilities in budget and deficit-reduction proposals by opposing cuts to or the elimination of effective services, while supporting expansions necessary to respond to growing need.
• Prevent damaging structural changes in essential programs that would shift costs onto vulnerable families or struggling state governments.
• Include diverse and stable revenues drawn from equitable sources.

Advocates for Ohio's Future will deliver the letter to Senator Portman and the rest of Ohio's Congressional delegation. It is important that they hear from organizations in Ohio that cutting major health, human service, and early care & education programs that serve the most vulnerable is not the answer to the nation's budget problems.

If you are not in a position to speak on behalf of your church or community organization, you can help by sharing this with your pastor, Executive Director, etc., and encouraging your congregation of group to act now.

You can also help by forwarding this opportunity to agencies and organizations you work with locally and across Ohio.

Ongoing Need

Continue to monitor efforts of the Super Committee to reduce the federal deficit. Be very concerned that Congress will try to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Remember and remind them throughout their planning process that any deficit reduction must do three things:

1. It must protect America's most vulnerable and not increase poverty. That means protecting Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment insurance and other basic safety net programs from reckless cuts
2. It must be balanced. All Americans must pay their fair share to solve this problem. That means ending tax cuts and tax loopholes that only benefit America's wealthy and big corporations.
3. It must create jobs. Creating good jobs the surest and most sustainable way to reduce the deficit. Congress must make a plan that gets Americans back to work.

We urge you to amplify your message by sending a letter to the editor to your local paper telling them to get their priorities straight by creating a balanced deficit reduction plan that protects services for low-income families and creates jobs.