Oppose the ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance Act’

Recipient: U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Representative: 

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 2560, the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011.” While we share the interest of all Americans in ensuring long-term fiscal stability, H.R. 2560 amounts to a “crash diet” approach that will devastate our most vulnerable populations and create lasting impediments to economic growth. 

Even though H.R. 2560 puts off the painful details until later, it is clear that it would require extreme and irresponsible cuts in federal spending. It would slash or eliminate many services that are needed by communities we represent, including people of color, young children, students, older Americans, women, the jobless, and the uninsured. With millions of families currently struggling in the face of unemployment and reduced income, H.R. 2560 would make things worse by requiring massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, education, emergency food assistance, and other necessities.  

At the same time, H.R. 2560 would hold hostage our nation’s long-term economic health by requiring, as a condition to any increase in the federal debt ceiling, that Congress send to the states one of several extreme versions of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This draconian and unwise proposal would require the largest budget cuts precisely when the economy is at its weakest, tipping a struggling economy deep into recession and keeping it there for a protracted length of time. Indeed, by restricting federal spending to 18 percent of GDP (a level not seen since 1966), the proposed amendment would force cuts even more drastic than the Ryan budget, which reduces spending to approximately 20 percent each year.  

With the United States projected to reach its debt ceiling in approximately two weeks, the House can ill afford to spend its time on extreme proposals such as H.R. 2560. We urge you to reject its passage and to focus on a bipartisan compromise that will result in a healthier economy and not merely a smaller one. 

Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Senior Counsel Rob Randhava, at 202-466-6058.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President