Civil and Human Rights Coalition Welcomes Reid Deficit Reduction Package

In contrast to proposals that would weaken Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D. NV, has proposed a deficit reduction package that would preserve these vital programs.

Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, applauded the Reid plan, saying:

In
the worst economic times that most of us have seen in our lifetimes, we
commend Senator Reid for offering a deficit reduction package that
preserves Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and other vital programs
that keep the middle class from sliding into poverty and the
impoverished from living on the streets.

Federal default
is not an option for disadvantaged communities who are already on the
wrong side of the widest wealth gap ever recorded. Economic fluctuation
has always hit those living on the margins with the most force and
intransigence, and 2012 is no exception. 

The government
needs a balanced approach to lowering deficits, including increased
revenue to make good on spending commitments that Congress has already
made to provide both opportunity and a safety net for middle-class and
impoverished families. This is one case where the only fiscally
responsible option is also the only socially responsible solution.

The
Leadership Conference and leaders from prominent national religious,
civil rights, charitable, economic research, and low-income advocacy
organizations have been calling for a deficit reduction plan that does
not cut vital programs and increase poverty. In a recent letter to
members of Congress, the groups emphasized how past deficit reduction packages managed to address fiscal issues without undermining programs that alleviate poverty.