FY2008 Budget

January 2007

“The quality of the national discussion about our economic future will affect the poor most of all, in this country and throughout the world. The life and dignity of millions of men, women and children hang in the balance. Decisions must be judged in light of what they do for the poor, what they do to the poor, and what they enable the poor to do for themselves. The fundamental moral criterion for all economic decisions, policies, and institutions is this: They must be at the service of all people, especially the poor.” --National Council of Catholic Bishops. Economic Justice for All, #24 (1986)

The Catholic Bishops challenge us in to set priorities to serve the needs of those with the least economic power.

NETWORK supports a federal budget built on fairness, economic equity and compassion for those who struggle for economic survival. We also support taxation that is progressive, expecting those who are most able to contribute financially to the common good to do so. We know that Americans do not object to paying for human needs, but the recent tax packages suggest just the opposite. They extend tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans almost exclusively.

Background

The president’s February budget request for FY2008 indicates his priorities for the coming year.

The House appropriations committee expects to mark-up its version of the FY08 budget in the first week of March, and to bring it to the House floor in the second week of March. Appropriators in the Senate must present their version of the FY2008 budget by April 15even thought they will be out of session the first two weeks of April for the spring recess. The Senate does expect to deal with the war supplemental within three weeks of the president’s request.

Even as work on the FY2008 budget begins, the FY2007 budget continues to be unresolved, likely to end in a Continuing Resolution based on FY2006 funding levels that severely cut mandatory programs and appropriated inadequate funding for most social programs in the health, housing and education areas. A spending cap for FY2007 is matched to the president’s budget proposal for this year, even more drastically limiting funds available for human needs.

The administration continues to praise the strength of the U.S. economy. However, the wealth felt in the highest economic brackets and the rising tide of the stock market are not having a positive effect on the economic stability of most families in the United States. Each of the last five years, the Census Bureau poverty data have shown that increased numbers of families have fallen below the poverty threshold, and many have fallen deeper below than in the past. Increasing numbers of families struggle to meet basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.