Backing health care reform, but concerned about the funding (UPDATED)

More than 100 local and national Jewish organizations — including United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, American Jewish Committee and the Reform and Conservative movements– have laid out their priorities for the 2010 budget. They include spending for new investments in various social service programs, funding for the National Housing Trust Fund and reauthorization of child nutrition programs. Probably most notable is the letter’s statement that "comprehensive healthcare reform, including long-term care, must be included in the FY2010 federal budget, enabling the authorizing committees to move forward with a plan that will reduce costs while improving quality and access" while also expressing concerns that the administration will partially finance it with a reduction in the deduction for charitable contributions. "As you devise a fiscally responsible way to finance health reform, we urge you to consider the impact that this proposal would have on non-profit charitable organizations, including the Jewish community’s network of agencies, which serve as the government’s partner in providing a variety of social programs," states the missive. UPDATED: The Orthodox Union declined to sign the letter because while it did not disagree with the contents, it felt the language on the charitable deduction change was too weak. The full letter is below:

March 18, 2009

Dear Member of Congress:

The recently released Fiscal Year 2010 Presidential budget proposal includes requests for significant healthcare reform and increases in human needs funding. We, the undersigned organizational members of the Jewish community, applaud President Obama’s pledge to fix our broken healthcare system and his commitment to safeguarding funding for the most vulnerable members of our society during these unprecedented
economic times. We have long been involved with the annual budget process, advocating for policies and programs that assist the most vulnerable people in our nation.

Our community’s commitment to ending poverty is encapsulated in the Torah, where it is commanded: “If there is among you a poor man, one of your brethren… you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother” (Deuteronomy 15:7). We are told in Proverbs 31:9, to “speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and the needy,” and we learn that helping fellow human beings, or tzedakah, is not simply a matter of charity, but one of responsibility, righteousness, and justice. These values frame our advocacy.

In the coming weeks, Congress will begin crafting the FY2010 budget to determine funding levels for programs that will help the poorest and those feeling the harshest effects of this economic recession. We hope to work with your office to ensure that the following Jewish communal priorities are highlighted in the FY2010 Congressional Budget Resolution:

· Healthcare Reform: We have long been advocates for healthcare reform that will provide quality, affordable, accessible choices to all. While we must protect thevulnerable populations served by Medicaid and Medicare, the current economic crisis makes comprehensive reform more urgent than ever. As the ranks of the uninsured swell and businesses struggle to stay afloat while still providing their employees with health benefits, it is more apparent than ever that our nation’s economic health and our nation’s health care system are deeply connected. The possibility of comprehensive healthcare reform, including long-term care, must be included in the FY2010 federal budget, enabling the authorizing committees to move forward with a plan that will reduce costs while improving quality and access.

Many in our community have significant concerns with the Administration’s proposal to partially finance this reform by reducing the deduction for charitable contributions. We believe that governmental policy should serve to maximize incentives for charitable giving and fear that the proposal will move away from that worthwhile goal at a time when charities are struggling to help those in need. As you devise a fiscally responsible way to finance health reform, we urge you to consider the impact that this proposal would have on non-profit charitable organizations, including the Jewish community’s network of agencies, which serve as the government’s partner in providing a variety of social programs.

· Discretionary Spending: We urge you to include in the budget sufficient discretionary spending to allow for new investments in critical human needs programs such as Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), the Social Services Block Grant, the Community Services Block Grant, the Older Americans Act, and Sections 8, 811 and 202 housing. These programs help states, localities, and nonprofits, such as those in the Jewish community, to better serve those in need.

· Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Child nutrition programs safeguard the wellbeing of America’s children by reducing hunger and increasing access to highquality, nutritious foods. We urge Congress to provide $4 billion per year in new funding for child nutrition programs in the FY 2010 budget in advance of the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs. Such an investment would enable the authorizing committees to make critical improvements to enhance access, increase participation, improve benefit adequacy, and help eliminate child hunger.

· National Housing Trust Fund: We urge you to include funding for the National Housing Trust Fund in the FY2010 Budget. At a time when every Congressional district faces an affordable housing crisis, initial capitalization of the Trust Fund in the FY2010 budget would represent a down payment for a dedicated source of revenue to build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million units of housing for the
lowest income families over the next 10 years.

Now, more than ever, this economic crisis requires a federal budget that balances the need for long-term fiscal discipline with the need to sustain critical services in this time of economic crisis. Too many Americans face harsh economic realities and are forced to make choices between competing human needs: food bank resources are dwindling, low-income seniors choose between paying for home heating and obtaining prescription drugs, and social service agencies are forced to turn people away. Today, as poverty continues to rise and service providers across the country scramble to fill budget gaps, a federal budget that
elevates these human needs is more critical than ever. We urge you to pass a budget that reflects these current realities and the important work our nonprofits do in our communities

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Sincerely,

National Groups:

American Jewish Committee
Association of Jewish Aging Services of North America
Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies
B’nai B’rith International
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Labor Committee
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Men of Reform Judaism
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
National Council of Jewish Women
Rabbinical Assembly
Union for Reform Judaism
United Jewish Communities
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Women’s League of Conservative Judaism
Women of Reform Judaism

Local Groups:

Baltimore Jewish Council
Brownstein Jewish Family Service (Southbury, Connecticut)
Chicago Region Jewish Labor Committee
Cleveland Jewish Labor Committee
Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland
Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Collier County
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
Community Relations Committee of the Knoxville Jewish Alliance
Community Relations Council of the Louisville Jewish Federation
Community Relations / Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester NY
Federation Early Learning Services (Philadelphia)
F·E·G·S Health and Human Services System, New York
Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
JARC Residential Care and Community Inclusion (Detroit)
JEVS Human Services (Philadelphia, PA)
Jewish Apartments & Services (Detroit)
Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, Inc. (New York)
Jewish Child Care Association of New York
Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Community Federation of Richmond
Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Birmingham Jewish Federation
Jewish Community Relations Council of Austin
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey
Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit
Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas
Jewish Community Relations Council of the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey
Jewish Family & Career Services in Louisville
Jewish Family & Children’s Service – St. Louis, MO
Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Minneapolis
Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma
Counties
Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Southern Arizona
Jewish Family & Children Service of Southern New Jersey
Jewish Family & Children’s Service – St. Louis, MO
Jewish Family Service, Inc. of Broward County (Florida)
Jewish Family Service of Austin, Texas
Jewish Family Service of Buffalo & Erie County New York
Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey
Jewish Family Services (Danbury, Connecticut)
Jewish Family Services of Dutchess County
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, Inc.
Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit
Jewish Family Service of North Jersey
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
Jewish Family Service of St. Paul (Minnesota)
Jewish Family Service (Toledo, Ohio)
Jewish Family Service of Worcester, Inc.
Jewish Federation of the Berkshires
Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
The Jewish Federation of Eastern Fairfield County, CT
Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor
Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines
Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
Jewish Federation of Monmouth County
Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
Jewish Labor Committee – Western Region
Jewish Seniors Agency of Rhode Island
Jewish Vocational Services (Detroit)
Kadima Jewish Support Services for Adults With Mental Illness (Detroit)
Lions Gate Continuing Care Community (New Jersey)
Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations
Milwaukee Jewish Federation
New England Region Jewish Labor Committee
New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations
Ohio Jewish Communities
Philadelphia Jewish Labor Committee
Selfhelp Community Services, Inc, New York City
St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council
UJA-Federation of New York
UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey
Yad Ezra (Michigan’s Kosher Food Pantry