Civil and Human Rights Coalition Welcomes Reid Deficit Reduction Package

July 26, 2011 - Posted by Ron Bigler

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.