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Clean Budget Coalition Opposes FY 2017 Appropriations Riders

February 8, 2016 | Download PDF

Dear President Obama and Members of Congress,

We, the undersigned organizations, write to ask you to oppose any FY 2017 appropriations bills which include inappropriate ideological policy riders.

Appropriations bills have been used before to undermine essential safeguards through “policy riders” – provisions that address extraneous policy issues, and are slipped into appropriations bills to win approval as part of must-pass funding legislation. Last year, hundreds of these policy provisions were proposed as a part of the omnibus process, and in this year’s budget process some members of Congress have already started to insist on inappropriate riders.

Ideological riders are measures that the public opposes, and that the President would likely veto 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 to ensure continued access to vital health care services.

Inappropriate riders are intended to advance the priorities of special interest donors and supporters, and they have become the “new earmarks.” However, in many ways, they are actually far worse than the old district-specific earmarks, because they have vastly greater reach and nationwide consequence for the American people.

We urge Members of Congress to oppose flawed funding proposals that include ideological policy riders. We further urge the administration in the strongest possible terms to oppose any funding bills that have such riders, whether moving via regular order or as part of a funding package.

Sincerely,

Advocates for Better Children’s Diets

Alaska PIRG

Alliance for Justice

American Association for Justice

American Association of University Women (AAUW)

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFLCIO)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

Americans for Financial Reform

Arizona PIRG

Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Breast Cancer Action

Bright Lines Project

CALPIRG

Center for Biological Diversity

Center for Effective Government

Center for Justice & Democracy

Center for Progressive Reform

Center for Responsible Lending

Center for Science in the Public Interest

Chicago Consumer Coalition

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Coalition on Human Needs

Common Cause

Communications Workers of America

ConnPIRG

Consumer Action

Consumer Federation of America

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety

CoPIRG

Daily Kos

Defenders of Wildlife

Democracy 21

Demos

Earthjustice

Economic Policy Institute

Empire, State Consumer Project, Inc.

Endangered Species Coalition

Environment America

Epic-Environmental Protection Information Center

Every Voice

Florida PIRG

Free Press Action Fund

Georgia PIRG

Green America

Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings

Illinois PIRG

International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)

Iowa PIRG

Klamath Forest Alliance

League of Conservation Voters

Main Street Alliance

Maryland PIRG

Massachusetts Consumers Council

MASSPIRG

MoPIRG

NARAL Pro-Choice America

National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)

National Association of Consumer Advocates

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

National Center for Health Research

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients)

National Consumers League

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH)

National Education Association

National Employment Law Project

National Employment Lawyers Association

National Fair Housing Alliance

National Health Care for the Homeless Council

National Organization for Women

Natural Resources Defense Council

NCPIRG

NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

New Progressive Alliance

NHPIRG

NJ PIRG

NMPIRG

Ohio PIRG

Oregon PIRG (OSPIRG)

PennPIRG

People For the American Way

PIRG in Michigan (PIRGIM)

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Public Citizen

Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA)

RIPIRG

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Texas Consumer Association

TexPIRG

The Arc

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

The Wilderness Society

U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)

Union of Concerned Scientists

Voices for Progress

VPIRG

WashPIRG

WildEarth Guardians

Wildlands Network

Wildlife Conservation Society

WISPIRG

Woodstock Institute

Workplace Fairness