Action Alert: Pass a Sensible Budget and Stop the Cuts!!

News-in-Brief ACTION ALERT
Pass a Sensible Budget and Stop the Cuts!!

Action Alert

Tell Members of Congress to Pass a Sensible Budget and Stop the Cuts!!

Background:

The federal government is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) - a law to keep the government open - that will expire on January 15, 2014. Unless Congress comes to an agreement on a federal budget before that date, we will continue to operate under this stopgap measure, and sequestration - indiscriminate across-the-board cuts instituted in March - will continue to slash investments in critical non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs. NDD programs include health, education, job training, environment, social services, and all functions of the federal government that receive annual appropriations. These programs help individuals with learning disabilities from cradle through adulthood, and many have already been deeply cut in the two fiscal years before sequestration. Sequestration reduced these programs by another 5.3 percent, and the budget caps under current law will continue to shrink until Fiscal Year 2023 unless Congress acts now.

Congress must prioritize federal investments in education, health, and other critical programs by replacing sequestration with a sensible, sustainable and balanced plan that reduces the deficit and stops cuts to these programs.

TAKE ACTION NOW:

A conference of House and Senate Budget Committee members is meeting NOW to try to come to agreement on a budget number that the Appropriations (spending) Committees can use to fund critical programs for the current fiscal year (FY 2014).

Please contact your representatives and senators TODAY!

Call your members of the House and Senate*:

Ask to speak to the staff member who deals with budget issues. Identify yourself as a member of the Learning Disabilities Association of America and what role you play (parent/teacher/individual with a learning disability, etc.), and state that you are a constituent.

Then say:

"I am calling on you as my Representative (or "Senator") to replace the damaging impact of sequestration by passing a sensible, sustainable and balanced budget that reduces the deficit and stops cuts to vital human services. I oppose exempting defense from sequestration cuts and also oppose giving flexibility to government agencies to decide where cuts might fall. Please act NOW to find a more balanced approach to deficit reduction."

ALSO, if you have a personal story about some cuts to benefits - elimination of a Head Start slot, cutbacks in IDEA school services, loss of job training, or other opportunities - please share those with your representatives and senators. Putting a personal face on sequestration is very important. Real people are being affected daily by these indiscriminate cuts!!

*To find who your Representative and Senators are, go to http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) is a national network of volunteers with thousands of members including individuals with learning disabilities, their families, and the professionals who work with them. Organized in 1963, LDA is the largest non-profit volunteer organization advocating for individuals with learning disabilities. It has over 100 state and local affiliates throughout the United States and members from countries around the world.

LDA is dedicated to identifying causes and promoting prevention of learning disabilities and to enhancing the quality of life for all individuals with learning disabilities and their families by encouraging effective identification and intervention, fostering research, and protecting their rights under the law.

LDA seeks to accomplish this through awareness, advocacy, empowerment, education, service and collaborative efforts.

News-in-Brief is an email news publication of the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

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