Groups speak for poor

WASHINGTON — Over the past week, as lawmakers and President Barack Obama have struggled to reach a deficit-reduction deal, Arkansans who run social programs and a labor union have sent a message to Washington: Don’t let the poor and needy and schools get pushed off the “fiscal cliff.”

The fiscal cliff is a combination of deep cuts in domestic and military programs, which are scheduled to automatically go into effect in January, and the expiration of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts. The result, say many economist and political observers, will send the country back into a recession.

Sister Deborah Troillett, an Arkansas native who is a member of the Washingtonarea leadership team for Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, was one of several faith leaders who met Thursday in Washington to press legislators to shield programs for the poor — such as food stamps, Medicaid and foreign aid — from steep cuts as they negotiate a budget deal.

Troillett, who served as the principal and president of Little Rock’s Mount St. Mary Academy for 22 years, said money should be taken from military spending accounts and used to fund other priorities, including foreign aid and global health assistance.

In meetings with lawmakers, including Arkansas’ Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat, she urged lawmakers to stick to a spending plan circulating in the Senate that would provide $670 million for global antimalaria programs. Legislation in the Houses pegs that spending at $650 million a year.

“We don’t need to secure the world through military force,” she said in an interview. “We can help secure it through mosquito nets.”

During a one-day visit Wednesday to Washington to meet with the Arkansas delegation, Donna Morey, president of the Arkansas Education Association, pressed lawmakers to reach a deal. If automatic spending cuts go into effect, she said, Arkansas would see a series of education cuts, including a $6.1 million decrease in Head Start funding and a $9.2 million cut in special-education grants.

Morey said education cuts would jeopardize the nation’s economic growth. Though it’s not clear what a final deal will look like — or if lawmakers will even reach an agreement — Morey was braced for bad news after meeting with the delegation.

“They intimated that no one’s going to like the whole deal,” she said.

Troillett agreed: “Yes, it’s going to require cuts for everyone,” she said. “We’re realistic.”

But Troillett said the issue facing legislators was not simply how they were going to adjust spending and taxation in order to reduce the national deficit. The most pressing issue, she said, was how to make the budget reflect a “respect for the dignity of the human person.”

“It’s a moral issue,” she said.

Over the past week, other groups, such as the Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus, also made their cases.

Lee Powell, the president of the caucus, which promotes health-care, worker-training and education spending in the Mississippi Delta region, said he feared that lawmakers would eliminate “safety net” programs for the poor and shutter the Delta Regional Authority, a federal program that provides economic development grants in the region.

Powell said he and other caucus members had been in touch with the Arkansas congressional delegation on a daily basis, pushing the message that the wealthy have to shoulder a higher tax burden and that programs for the poor should not be cut.

However, Rep. Tim Griffin, a Republican, said the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts would only reduce the deficit an “insignificant” amount.

The real culprits responsible for the nation’s deficit, he said, are so-called entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security.

“A lot of people I’ve talked to are under the impression that if we address taxes, we’ve dealt with the deficit,” he said. “Taxes don’t even move the needle.”

Republican Sen. John Boozman agreed and said that spending cuts were necessary to end a dependency on federal programs.

“A lot of times, instead of giving a hand up, you’re giving a handout,” he said. “The people of Arkansas are willing to sacrifice, but are concerned that the sacrifice, instead of paying off the debt ... goes into new programs.”

Troillett’s Capitol Hill tour was put together by a consortium of religious organizations, including Bread for the World, a Washington anti-poverty group.

Before the religious leaders went on their rounds, they received a pep talk from Amelia Keegan, a policy analyst at Bread for the World, in the penthouse suite of the group’s headquarters.

With the Capitol’s dome in the background, Keegan told the group members they had arrived in Washington at a “sweet spot” — the elections, which had consumed lawmakers’ attention for months, were over and there were still a few weeks before the end of the year to make a deal.

“This is such an important moment,” she said.

She told them to anticipate that some lawmakers would respond that they are not involved in direct negotiations, so there isn’t much they can do.

In response, she said, those lawmakers should be told to press their leaders. Remember, she said, each congressman and senator is directly involved: “They have a vote.”