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Washington – Today, First Focus released a new analysis that shows on an inflation adjusted basis the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Labor-HHS-Education and Related Agencies spending bills would continue the downward trend in federal investments in America’s children. Adjusting for inflation, both proposals actually cut the real purchasing power of federal children’s initiatives, relative to current (federal Fiscal Year 2011) funding. The House bill by $876 million (1.5%) and the Senate bill by $586 million (1%).
“The economy has put incredible demands on kids and their families, and Congress should deliver better than a budget that doesn’t even cover inflation,” said First Focus President Bruce Lesley.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s spending bill provides increases for key education, health care, and early learning programs like Head Start, Community Health Centers, and Promise Neighborhoods. The House bill also provides a significant increase for Head Start as well as Title I and IDEA funding. However, in an overall comparison, the Senate Committee’s bill provides $295 million more than the House.
“There are wins for kids on individual programs in the House bill and in the Senate bill, but on balance, the Senate plan comes closer to meeting kids’ needs. We certainly could have seen worse, but we are hopeful that the final agreement will combine the positive elements of both approaches,” said Lesley.
The complete analysis is available at www.firstfocus.net.
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First Focus is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.firstfocus.net.