Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

ACTION ALERT

Nov 16, 2001

DEMAND AN ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT HELPS LOW-INCOME AMERICANS
The nation seems to be slipping into recession. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment rose to 5.4% and the number of people on payrolls fell 415,000 in October. In order to give the economy a boost, Congress is planning to pass an economic stimulus package in the coming weeks. The House has passed a stimulus bill, while a Senate bill is still pending. Critics say that the stimulus bill passed by the House only benefits big corporations and wealthy people, and leaves behind millions of low-income families who have been hit hard by the recession. Citizen action is needed to ensure that Congress passes a bill that helps those in need and provides a boost to the economy.

ACTION: Please call your U.S. Senators?’ Washington offices and ask for a stimulus package that puts money into the hands of working families that can be expected to spend it on the necessities of life. Such a bill would provide economic stimulus quickly by targeting those most in need. Features should include:

Strengthening food stamp eligibility and benefit provisions to help unemployed families and enhance the program's anti-recession impact.

Funding the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) at levels sufficient to meet the projected need.

Targeting any tax relief where it is most needed (such as on the 35 million people who did not benefit from the last round of tax cuts).

Improving Unemployment Insurance coverage for laid-off workers by extending the period of coverage, increasing weekly benefit amounts and expanding eligibility to include part-time workers and those who have recently entered the work force and others.

Paying for COBRA health insurance premiums and health care benefits for laid-off workers.

Phone numbers: Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121. AFL-CIO is sponsoring a toll-free number for calls to Senators: 1-800-718-1008.

BACKGROUND: The House passed its economic stimulus bill in October by only two votes (216-214). The bill contains more than $100 billion in tax cuts for corporations and individuals. It provides some tax rebates for working Americans, but mostly benefits large corporations. According to critics, the core of the bill is a repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax retroactive to 1986, which would cause about $25 billion in huge lump sum checks from the government to be immediately paid to selected companies.

In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has unveiled the Senate Democratic bill. While the House bill is almost entirely tax cuts, the $70 billion Baucus proposal includes $35 billion in tax rebates to low-income Americans and tax breaks for businesses. Senator Baucus' bill would also extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks, provide a 50% federal subsidy for COBRA (continuation of benefits) health insurance, and expand Medicaid eligibility. Neither the House nor Senate Republican versions of the bill provide these benefits. The Senate Republican version, according to a New York Times editorial 10-30-01, accelerates ?“all the top-bracket tax cuts that were to have been phased in by existing law. This is an almost shocking proposal, by some estimates transferring more than half the tax cut to the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers.?”

For more information, contact Alan Gold gold@action.org at the RESULTS office.



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