Budget Plans Threaten Our Most Vulnerable Citizens

National Mental Health Association
Monday, 7 April 2003

Congress Must Say "No" to Excessive Tax Cuts That Undermine Safety Net Programs: Statement by Michael Faenza, NMHA President and CEO

As congressional leaders and the President keep trying to wedge a huge tax cut into next year's budget, it's becoming clear that "there's no free lunch here." Tax cuts have real costs. Consider some of the cuts the House of Representatives have put on the chopping block, which loot "safety net" programs to finance a $1.4 trillion tax cut:

• $12.5 billion from food stamps


• $7.9 billion from Temporary Assistance For Needy Families


• $5.8 billion from school lunches


• $3.7 billion from foster care and adoption assistance


• $2.6 billion from child support enforcement


• $92.1 billion from Medicaid, which provides healthcare for low-income people

Whether or not these cuts will be part of a final budget deal, they show that the country can't have deep tax cuts without also sharply reducing spending. And the House budget plan shows who is most likely to bear that burden: children, people with disabilities and lower-income Americans.
Tax cut debaters spar often about "fairness," but too few are asking if we can afford to reduce federal revenues by more than a trillion dollars. Can we afford to cut education, health care and veterans programs, as the House also proposes? Can the country afford to ignore other pressing needs?

Consider the public mental health system in this country which the President's Mental Health Commission recently reported "is in shambles" and "does not adequately serve million of people who need care." Rather than proposing a rescue plan for the millions of people with mental illness who are dependent on public services, the pending House budget plan would cut federal mental health funding. Not only are state and local mental health systems in crisis, but states across the country are wrestling with severe, record budget shortfalls, currently estimated to total $85 billion. Forced to balance their budgets, states are cutting mental health and other services. Congress needs to provide relief to the states and meet other pressing national needs, including making mental health a national priority, before it turns its attention to cutting taxes over the next decade.

In this time of economic downturn, we need to protect and bolster critical public service systems that aid people in need. It's clear that deep, long-term tax reduction will undermine those critical programs and place all Americans at risk. Members of Congress need to say "no" to exorbitant tax cuts and to being steamrolled into supporting a budget that cuts taxes at the expense of children, people with disabilities, the poor and others in need.

The National Mental Health Association is the country's oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. The NMHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans through advocacy, education, research and service.

For more information, or to contact National Mental Health Association, see their website at: www.nmha.org