On March 4, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) hosted a webinar to discuss the potential harm for women and families of the House budget resolution that passed on Feb. 25. After opening remarks from NWLC President and CEO Fatima Goss Graves, the Income Security and Child Care team elaborated on the Center’s efforts to oppose harmful policy proposals and promote a care economy that supports the American people.
The representatives from the Income Security and Child Care team explained that the House budget resolution proposes funding cuts to offset policies like attacking immigrant families and creating tax cuts for the wealthiest people and corporations. Although House Republicans have promised not to touch social service programs like Medicaid, the resolution advances a budget that cuts trillions of dollars for the committees that administer these programs, which may leave these committees no choice but to reduce or eliminate their services.
As such, programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); Social Services Block Grant (SSBG); Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Medicaid; and the Child Tax Credit are at risk. Social services are crucial to millions of women and children across the U.S. because they provide food assistance, healthcare, and federal funding to states for additional services. These programs also make it easier for families to afford childcare, which has been “prohibitively expensive” for many Americans in recent years.
NWLC is working to push back on harmful tax proposals like this one and minimize the damage to women, families, and the economy by educating the public on what these programs and tax changes will mean for everyday people. Through their collaborations with state advocates and constituents, they are facilitating conversations with congressional delegations on why the federal budget is important to the American people and emphasizing the real-world impacts of the changing budget. The Center is also promoting policy solutions that will help women and families, such as accessible childcare, raising taxes on the wealthy, and expanding a child tax credit. Members of the Income Security and Child Care team emphasized that childcare helps child development, stimulates the economy, and helps parents go to work, so it is beneficial to all people.
Politico recently reported that the Senate is unlikely to take up negotiations over the House budget resolution before the end of March, which is necessary to reach a compromise with the House. It will focus on funding the government before the projected shutdown date of March 14. The Feminist Majority Foundation encourages concerned constituents to call their Congressional representatives about the importance of securing funding for women and families. As Fatima Goss Graves said during the briefing, “I believe firmly that the antidote to fear is joining together in community in solidarity…Courage inspires more courage, and we are beginning to see that more and more.”