Feature Story from civilrights.org
Tyler Lewis
May 15, 2008
Four of the nation's leading social justice groups are calling on Congress to pass a meaningful economic stimulus bill to help struggling families and invigorate the economy.
Congress passed a $168 million stimulus bill in February, but many civil rights groups say that it does little to help low-income Americans.
In letters sent to the House and Senate, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Coalition on Human Needs, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and the Center for American Progress Action Fund outlined a list of provisions that they say must be included in a second stimulus bill in order for the bill to have a real impact on the lives of Americans who are struggling to get by.
The provisions include increased funding, or a prevention of cuts in funding, for:
- Unemployment benefits;
- Programs designed to help low-income families, such as food stamps, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP);
- Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP);
- The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a program that helps low-income families with rising energy costs;
- Head Start, which serves children in low-income families.
In the letter, the groups explain why Congress should pass another stimulus bill with these components, stating, "Federal inaction will allow millions without jobs to run out of unemployment benefits and will force young and old alike to go without food. Letting such preventable hardships occur is a not just a moral wrong – it will make the recession more severe for all."
The economy has become an increasing concern for many Americans, with most believing that the nation is now in a recession.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released on May 6 found that 79 percent of respondents think that the U.S. is in a recession, up from 74 percent in March and 66 percent in February.
President Bush maintains that the current economic slowdown is not a recession, although he admits the economy is "not as robust as any of us would like."
