However, some conservatives in Congress insist that relief for programs like the Older Americans Act be paid for by cutting Medicare and Medicaid. This budgetary sleight-of-hand could trade partial relief for some seniors’ programs by cutting other essential health security programs like Medicare and Medicaid, thus further eroding the tenuous economic situation many older Americans face.
Max Richtman via Huffington Post.
House and Senate negotiators unveiled an $85 billion agreement late Tuesday to fund federal agencies through the fall of 2015, averting another government shutdown and ending the cycle of crisis that has paralyzed Washington for much of the past three years.
In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) stood side by side in the Capitol with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to announce the deal, which would cancel half of the sharp spending cuts known as the sequester for the current fiscal year.
WASHINGTON – More older Americans will miss meals and other services as federal spending fails to keep pace with rising need, according to a report released Tuesday.
The sequester is devastating seniors.
As Congress goes back and forth what to do, it’s looking like sequester cuts will continue at least for a few months. That will continue to hurt the economy.
Just as they were when Mobile Meals of Topeka Inc., now Meals on Wheels, began 41 years ago, volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization that provides hot meals and checks on the welfare of senior and homebound individuals in Shawnee and Jefferson counties.
The sequester is hurting programs like Meals on Wheels.
As sequestration continues, Impact Aid and other very small government expenditures targeted at society’s most vulnerable are struggling to operate as intended. Congress has found time to exempt business travelers and other noisy constituencies from the cuts, but 57,000 poor kids on Head Start, the elderly dependent on Meals on Wheels, scientific researchers, the homeless, the working poor, and domestic violence victims have not been so lucky.
The elderly is seeing the impact of the sequester every day.
The brunt of the cuts have fallen in areas like medical and science research funding and services that help the poor, sick and elderly.
The sequester slashed 57,000 children this fall from the rolls of Head Start daycare and preschool programs, available for poor families nationwide.
About two-thirds of Meals on Wheels programs had to reduce the number of meals they served, by an average of 364 meals per week, a survey found.
Further reading on the Sequester and its impact on seniors can be found here.
Another tidbit: One House Republican familiar with the talks says parts of sequestration may be something Republicans will discuss, should Democrats inch toward them on taxes or health care. For example, if Democrats start to talk about chained CPI, Republicans may budge a little on sequestration and look at trading some entitlement reform for renewed funding. Senate budget chairman Patty Murray and Ryan have been having related talks for months, and they’re poised to guide the negotiations, should they pick up speed. House leadership, per several sources, seems open to such trades.
The Chained CPI would impact seniors, veterans, and the disabled.
Programs such as Meals on Wheels, help for low-income students in preparing for college, low-income housing vouchers, free emergency lifeline service to seniors, weatherization programs, community health centers – all have been significantly affected [by sequestration].
Sequestration is hurting programs like Meals on Wheels and Head Start which a lot of seniors and children rely on.
Do you know anyone impacted by sequestration?
WASHINGTON – Head Start, the federal pre-K education service for low-income families, has eliminated services for more than 57,000 children in the coming school year as a result of the federal budget reductions known as sequestration. The cuts include a shorter school year and shorter school days, as well as laying off or reducing the pay for more than 18,000 employees nationwide.
The sequester is impacting children and seniors.
