New Budget Deal Is an Okay First Step, but Far From Perfect

Yesterday, by a vote of 64-36, the U.S. Senate passed the “Bipartisan Budget Act.” Under the provisions of the budget, $23 billion in funding for programs will be restored that were severely slashed by budget sequestration. Still, it does not altogether replace the massive cuts due to sequestration, nor does it fully restore funding for domestic priorities that have been slashed by multiple rounds of budget cuts. It is a far from perfect budget, but it is certainly a first step.

“We are pleased to see lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree to a budget that mitigates the harm of another round of deep cuts to the health, education and employment programs that Latinos and other communities need to survive,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President  and CEO, in a statement.  “Latinos understand the importance of deficit reduction but strongly believe that it cannot come at the expense of our children’s health and education.  Congress is finally listening to the American people who overwhelmingly rejected the policies that led to the government shutdown.  We hope that today’s vote marks a turning point for how Congress handles federal budget policy moving forward.”

Last week, we commended the House of Representatives for reaching a bipartisan budget deal, but we  will continue to push both parties to roll back harmful cuts even further.

We will be watching closely and making our voice heard in the coming months as Congress fills in more of the details on funding for the remainder of this year, deciding which specific programs get their funding restored and which do not.  Whether Congress can oppose efforts to undo the sequester relief and restore critical investments in Latino children will be a major factor in the decision-making process for Latino voters, and now we have the numbers to prove what we already knew.

Just last week, Latino Decisions—a polling and research firm—released the results of a new national poll which shows that Congress must end the sequester cuts to win back Latino voters.

View the entire poll results here.

Stay on top of the latest federal budget news and how it affects Latinos by visiting Latinos United for a Fair Economy and asking your elected officials to pass fair and just economic policies.