The House’s Spending Plan Will Harm Millions

By Kandace Watkins, National Women’s Law Center

On June 24, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services funding bill, announcing that the proposed “[l]egislation will rein in damaging regulatory overreach, roll back harmful ObamaCare provisions, cut wasteful spending, and target investments to proven national programs.”

Well, not really.

The bill would cut spending for the Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services by about $15 billion (9%), compared to the President’s proposed budget.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, cuts to these so-called “wasteful” programs and “harmful” provisions would:

Healthcare Early and Higher Education

 

 Worker Protection

 
  • Restrict the functioning of the Health Insurance Marketplace
  • Deny assistance to States to help expand Medicaid
  • Jeopardize healthcare coverage for more than 10 million Americans.
  • Curb access to full school days and high-quality education for nearly 600,000 children from moderate- to low-income communities
  • Undercut funding for effective and proven programs like Head Start
  • Thwart the enhancement of STEM and arts education, while also jeopardizing safety and supportive school environments
  • Make it harder for states to hold colleges and universities accountable to both students and tax payers for quality education.
  • Cut much needed employment training programs and eliminate apprenticeship programs
  • Weaken enforcement of worker’s rights, benefits, and safety protections
  • Underfund the enforcement of laws and regulations that are designed to protect minimum wage, child labor, family leave, hourly wage jobs, and workplace safety

 

It’s obvious—to me, anyway—that funds for federal programs, services, and regulations are not “wasteful”, “damaging”, or “harmful”. In fact, they are the exact opposite. This funding bill does not sufficiently protect American workers, children, families, women, or moderate- to low-income communities. An appropriations bill that provides meaningful funding and support to everyone is crucial for the advancement of our communities and this country.

Originally posted here.