From the Children's Action Alliance:
"Draconian Budget Bills Pass in House & Senate Committees
Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a package of draconian budget bills, following in the steps of the House Appropriations Committee which did the same on May 5th. Both sets of bills include massive cuts to foster care and child protection services (CPS), health care, education, therapy and rehabilitation for children and adults with disabilities, and numerous other support services for seniors and families. Both bills include a permanent cut to a property tax that supports education and a bigger tax credit for donations to pay private school tuition.
One bill in the Senate budget package (SB 1188) especially harms families and the Arizona economy in numerous ways:
- Shrinks KidsCare by phasing out health coverage for 25,000 children
- Eliminates health coverage for 9,000 parents
- Turns away parents who qualify for child care assistance so they can work
- Leaves Child Protective Services without the minimum staff and services necessary to protect children’s safety
- Cuts cash assistance for basic necessities for very poor families, including more than 9,000 grandparents raising their grandchildren
- Slashes funding for food banks, domestic violence shelters and homeless shelters
- Raises the hidden health care tax by cutting payments to hospitals for care they are expected to deliver
This dangerous Senate budget passed the committee by a party-line vote of 7-4. So far, this budget does not have the support of a majority of the whole senate but ALL senators need to hear from us. Please click here to ask your senator to reject this budget which takes Arizona in the wrong direction and damages our economy, our families, and our future."