Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-17) today submitted testimony to Chairman Ryan and Ranking Member Van Hollen of the House Budget Committee outlining her priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Her testimony stressed the importance of protecting investments in education, aid to Haiti and Israel, community development block grants, family planning, and job training.
Text of the testimony is attached and copied below:
TESTIMONY OF
CONGRESSWOMAN FREDERICA S. WILSON
Before the House Budget Committee
March 30, 2011
Dear Chairman Ryan and Ranking Minority Member Van Hollen:
On behalf of the citizens of the 17th Congressional District of Florida, I am honored to present my testimony to you today regarding our nation’s budget for the 2012 fiscal year. I know that you have many, many difficult decisions to make as we face both a record deficit and debt. Within those limitations, we still have the ability to have care, compassion and courage in our deliberations. We must care for those who cannot care for themselves. We must have compassion for individuals and families who, despite their hard work and determination, find themselves staring at record unemployment, home foreclosures, and business failures. We must have courage to make the right decisions that may be politically unpopular but necessary to save our country for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I remain ready and willing to work with you and all of the Members of this august committee in that regard.
As you make your deliberations, I respectfully and humbly request the following recommendations.
We must protect our investment in education.
Before I became an elected official, I was a school teacher and principal. Two of my children are principals. My parents emphasized the importance of education. Education is the great equalizer for many Americans, especially minorities. The greatness of our country is the fact that you don’t have to be wealthy, well connected or come from privilege in order to be great. If you are willing to hustle, work hard, and go to school, you can do great things.
The organization that I founded, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Foundation, is committed to guiding minority boys, through education, to the success that college gives us. If not for the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Foundation, thousands of little African American boys would not be in college. Too many would be, instead, in prison, in trouble, and unproductive citizens in America. I am proud of the history and success of this program, and there are many more similar organizations doing the same thing with little if any headlines in our nation. With the reductions to the budget as proposed, thousands of other after- and before-school programs will simply not be able to ensure that another generation or two of children will get the important guidance, mentoring, and organized leadership they so desperately need.
Also, the House Budget’s proposed reductions to the Head Start program, the Pell Grant program, and to grant programs for worthwhile after-school organizations cannot be sustained. The Pell Grant, which has only been increased in funding in the last year after not being increased for more than five years, enables hundreds of thousands of low-income students to realize the more elusive dream of attending college. The Pell Grant is need-based, meaning that you get it because your financial situation warrants its use. The Head Start program has enabled hundreds of thousands of children to learn how to read, write, do arithmetic and be successful in elementary school. I served as the first Educational Coordinator of Head Start in Miami-Dade County. As a Head Start teacher, I wrote, produced, and starred in an educational TV show called 3.4 Knock On The Door for training pre-school teachers. I testified before the Committee on Education and Labor to save Head Start from being abolished. Today – I ask again – preserve Head Start. It is a precious jewel that helps our precious children.
We must preserve our funding for international relief programs, specifically, programs supported by the U .S. Agency for International Development.
As you know, the U.S. Department of State received $49.9 billion for FY 2010; the President is requesting $52.7 billion for the next fiscal year. In a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton illustrated the deep cuts and the elimination of redundant and outdated programs. This budget only contains what is necessary to accomplish America’s goals abroad and advance American security interests.
H.R. 1, the Budget Resolution for the next fiscal year, would reduce funding for this budget by a whopping 41 percent. This reduction would, in particular, affect USAID’s work in Haiti. You might not know that USAID, along with other international organizations no longer conduct universal food distribution in Haiti. However, USAID is still working with the World Food Program to distribute to approximately 1.9 million Haitians who need food, including children under five, pregnant and lactating women, school children, orphans and vulnerable people in institutions. More than 24,000 people per day on average participate in USAID’s cash-for-work program across Haiti, with most of the money that is distributed being used to purchase food, often for households of five or more people. In addition to providing a direct economic stimulus, these program help to prevent malnutrition for thousands of Haitians. I shudder to think what would happen to those 24,000 Haitians who receive USAID assistance, or the 1.9 million more that need food?
Furthermore, the budget for the Western Hemisphere’s request is $477.6 million. Of that total, Haiti is expected to receive $146.3 million. This request funds long-term development in infrastructure and energy, food and economic security, health – and we know that cholera is a huge problem in Haiti, and is one that could be solved with clean, safe drinking water. The proposed reduction in this funding would leave a dire impact upon the ability of eliminating the problem of cholera in Haiti.
We must preserve our funding to protect Israel and our allies.
The State Department’s budget found, and I quote, “administrative savings and efficiencies that will streamline operations.” The State Department also found savings from reprioritizing its foreign assistance. The Secretary has clearly made many difficult decisions. For example, the State Department has eliminated entire bilateral programs in six countries. Foreign assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia has been reduced by $115 million. These cuts will make way for higher priority funding -- such as for Israel, Pakistan, and “programs that are critical to containing transnational threats including terrorism and trafficking in narcotics, weapons, and persons,” as the Secretary stated in her budget. During these calamitous times in the Middle East, with Egypt, Libya and Tunisia witnessing revolutionary change, our country cannot afford further cuts to the budget that may affect the safety and security of Israel.
We must preserve funding for the Community Development Block Grant program.
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program the flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. Started in 1974, the CDBG program is one of the longest continuously run programs at HUD. The State of Florida has received between $18 million to $35 million in funds through the CDBG program, which has works to ensure decent affordable housing, to provide services to the most vulnerable in our communities, and to create jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses. CDBG is an important tool for helping local governments tackle serious challenges facing their communities. The CDBG program has made a difference in the lives of millions of people and their communities across the Nation. Congress has approved a 61% reduction in this worthwhile program. This is simply unconscionable. Our nation’s local elected officials -- mayors and county commissioners -- cannot afford the cut in this program that provides local flexibility to help save communities.
We must preserve funds for Planned Parenthood.
The elimination of funds for Planned Parenthood would mean that hundreds of thousands of women no longer have access to the valuable information to prevent pregnancies and protect their health. Planned Parenthood has been a reliable source of information about contraception and reproductive health, at little or no cost, for more than three decades. During a time of heightened sexual awareness by our nation’s teenagers and young adults, we need Planned Parenthood more than ever.
We must invest in jobs.
The Comprehensive Employment Training Act, or CETA, worked wonders to reduce unemployment during the presidencies of both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. I believe that if our budget invested in a program, whatever we called it, that would direct funds to cities, counties and qualified non-profits like the CETA program once did, we could immediately reduce unemployment, get people back to work, and get vitally needed tax dollars to our local communities. We need to invest in a federal direct-hire program to get people back to work, like the CETA program, now.
I know, again, that you have many difficult decisions that you have to make. I know that by working together we can make the correct and smart choices that will create jobs, defend our nation, protect the most vulnerable, grow the middle class, and reduce the deficit as we embark upon a fiscally responsible future. The American people demand and deserve no less.
Rep. Frederica S. Wilson is a first-term congresswoman representing the 17th District of Florida, including Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward Counties. She is a former state legislator and school principal and the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school.