White House Fact Sheet: Congressional Republicans would slash school funding, degrade Medicare services, worsen Social Security wait times, and more
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
MADISON, Wis. – In case you missed it, a new Wisconsin-specific White House fact sheet outlines the devastating consequences of government funding proposals introduced by House Republicans.
Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, including Congressmen Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, and Tom Tiffany, have refused to speak out against these proposals, even though they would harm the working families they represent. By demanding extreme cuts to programs including school funding, preschool, and administration funding for Social Security and Medicare, House Republicans are also turning their backs on the previous bipartisan budget agreement that averted a default earlier this year.
While the Republican cuts would be devastating for families and seniors in Wisconsin, House Republicans would also add at least $100 billion to the deficit by gutting measures to force wealthy tax cheats and big corporations to pay their fair share, and another $500 billion to the deficit if their proposed corporate tax giveaway was made permanent.
“If Congressmen Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, and Tom Tiffany want to help working families and seniors here in Wisconsin, they need to oppose these extreme bills that would have devastating consequences for our state,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Letting the wealthy and big corporations off the hook for paying their fair share, while slashing school funding and increasing wait times for Medicare and Social Security recipients is wrong. Wisconsinites expect our members of Congress to reject these harmful cuts and keep their promise.”
STATE FACT SHEET: House Republicans’ Funding Bills Would Have Devastating Impacts for Hard- Working Families Across Wisconsin [PDF]
In Wisconsin, the House Republican bills would:
• Slash Funding for Schools with Low-Income Students: House Republicans’ 80 percent cut to Title I funding would impact 388,200 students in schools that teach low- income students by forcing a reduction of up to 3,100 teachers, aides or other key staff.
• Eliminate Preschool Slots for 820 Children: House Republicans’ cut to Head Start would mean as many as 820 children in Wisconsin would lose access to high-quality preschool— undermining their education, leaving fewer children ready to enter kindergarten ready to learn, and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce.
• Raise housing costs for over 200 households: The proposed cuts would eliminate funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for 200 households in the state of Wisconsin.
• Degrade Medicare Services: The House Republican’s cut to the administration of the Medicare program would force roughly 1,269,000 seniors and people with disabilities in Wisconsin to endure longer wait times when they call the Medicare call center, potentially increasing average wait times from five to more than nine minutes. This reduction in funding would also make it harder to pay hospitals and doctors on time, causing financial challenges for health care providers across the country, especially independent and rural providers. And it would limit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ ability to oversee the safety of Wisconsin nursing homes, reducing inspections by at least 10 percent.
• Worsen Social Security Wait Times: House Republicans’ reduction for the Social Security Administration would impact the roughly 1,381,000 Wisconsinites receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. These cuts would cause people applying for disability benefits to wait approximately 9 months on average for a decision, more than doubling wait times from pre-pandemic levels. At funding levels this low, Social Security Field Offices could be forced to shorten the hours or days they are open to the public, or in some cases close altogether.
• Deny 4,200 Workers Access to Job Training and Workforce Development Services: House Republicans’ $4 billion in cuts to job training programs at the Department of Labor would result in 2,900 fewer adults receiving job training and employment services in the state of Wisconsin. House Republicans’ cuts would also deprive 1,400 youth from accessing programs providing the skills and training to support their transition to full-time careers. These harmful cuts would deprive businesses of the skilled workforce they need to thrive, and would cut off workers’ pathways to good jobs.
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