Good afternoon! I am writing to give you some good news and some disappointing news. Earlier today, the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed to a Continuing Resolution (CR) which will fund the federal government through the end of Fiscal Year 2013 (September 30, 2013). The bill is being sent to the White House for President Obama’s signature.
The good news is that the CR includes a small increase in funding ($33.5 million) for Head Start which will primarily be used to address transitional costs associated with the Designation Renewal System (Re-competition).
The bad news is that Congress did not find a way to use the CR as a reasonable alternative to the short-sighted and devastating automatic cuts the sequester is forcing on Head Start, Child Care, WIC, and many other important programs.
Our next opportunity to address the sequester is in the 2014 budget process. Congress has begun discussing the budget so we must make an all-hands-on-deck effort to educate Congress about the impact of the sequester. There are three things you can do, beginning today:
First, send a message to your Members of Congress and President Obama. Click here to send a message explaining why putting the burden of sequestration on the backs of at-risk children and their families is bad for your community and for the nation. Use Facebook and Twitter to tell everyone to send a message. 30,000 messages have been sent – we’ll need many more.
Second, write a letter to the editor of your local paper detailing the local effects of sequestration. You can use a template (click here) to get the letter started.
Third, stay connected. Use social media to tell us, Members of Congress and each other how the cuts are affecting children and families in your community. Together we can take advantage of this opportunity to ensure the sequester will be averted in future years.
Sincerely,
