Budget Proposal Fails to Invest in Hispanic Families

Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., expressed strong concern over the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Budget Request released by the White House today. The proposal calls on Congress to make drastic cuts to programs critical to Latinos and other working Americans.

“The President’s budget proposal misses an opportunity to invest in Latinos,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía. “Our nation has always relied on the millions of Americans, including Latinos, who make up our nation’s middle class. Unfortunately, this budget cuts programs critical to the Latino community and will make it more difficult for working families to climb the economic ladder and move solidly into the middle class.”

The FY 2008 Budget Request reduces funding for a number of domestic programs that were created to improve the economic security of low-income households, help U.S. families attain self-sufficiency, and strengthen American workers’ ability to maintain our nation’s standing as the world leader in business, science, technology, and innovation. Attached is NCLR’s preliminary analysis of President Bush’s FY 2008 Budget Request.

“To be truly competitive, a nation must have an educated workforce. Yet, the President’s budget eliminates successful programs such as Even Start, a program with a strong track record in helping children and families improve their literacy levels,” noted Murguía. “A nation’s economic health also depends on the good health of its families, but this budget does not address health care coverage for Latinos. The only outcome that this budget proposal can achieve is more uninsured Americans.”

Like other Americans, Latinos want their leaders to act fiscally responsible. Unfortunately, the President’s budget cuts programs that invest in children and poor families while pushing to extend tax cuts to the wealthy. This would only widen economic inequality and undermine hardworking Hispanic families.

“Strengthening our economy while ensuring a solid Hispanic middle class is in the best interest of the nation as a whole, and achieving this goal is within our reach,” concluded Murguía. “Fortunately, congressional leaders are presented with an opportunity to deliver more for Hispanic Americans. In particular, new Latino leadership in Congress can ensure that the needs of the Latino community are heard and that Congress delivers a budget that makes sense for all Americans.”

The President’s budget also fails to invest in the following priorities:

• The President’s budget would provide no increase in funding, even before considering inflation, for English-as-a-Second-Language and adult basic education services.
• The Administration fails to provide resources to restore legal immigrant access to vital programs for Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the Food Stamp Program (FSP).
• The budget provides no additional resources to improve Fair Housing laws.
• The President’s budget would eliminate funding for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).
• The budget would fund Head Start at its FY 2007 funding level of $6.789 million. Adjusted for inflation, Head Start funding has declined by more than 10% since 2005.

For more information on NCLR’s budget priorities, please see NCLR's Letter to President Bush on NCLR's FY 2008 Budget Priorities.

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