Fiscal 2014 Budget
Today is day 7 of the shutdown resulting from the congressional failure to pass spending bills for fiscal 2014, which began on October 1.
There does not yet appear to be a solution to the congressional impasse over enacting a spending bill to end the current shutdown.
Now, we are looking toward next Thursday, October 17, when the U.S. Treasury Department will hit the limit on federal borrowing.
If the debt ceiling is reached, many more governmental operations will be affected than have been under the current shutdown.
The U.S. Treasury Department has said that if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, Social Security checks will not go out, and health care providers will not be paid under Medicare or Medicaid.
Last week, members of Congress were divided over whether provisions defunding or modifying the Affordable Care Act should be included in a 2014 spending measure.
This week the debate has shifted to whether Congress should pass a “clean” measure to end the shutdown and/or raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling impasse is resurrecting calls for substantial cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and other mandatory spending programs as a condition of addressing the shutdown and the debt ceiling.
No specific proposals for Medicare or Medicaid cuts have been put forward.
The principles our Public Policy Congress adopted at the beginning of this year call on Congress to take a fair, balanced and responsible approach to federal budgeting, without damaging across-the-board cuts or government shutdowns. Our principles also say that budget deficit reduction should spare those least able to provide essential food, shelter and health care for themselves.
Our message to both parties in Congress is to put politics and posturing aside and pass fair and responsible legislation to put the federal government back into operation.
Older Americans Act Reauthorization
A bright spot last week was the introduction of
S. 1561, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA). The Older Americans Act funds many of the supportive services like nutrition assistance and transportation that enable thousands of seniors to remain in their homes and communities.
Because the Older Americans Act currently does not have authorization, it is especially vulnerable to budget cutting. We therefore strongly support the new bill even though it does not contain all the provisions we were looking for in an OAA reauthorization.
The U.S. Senate committee with jurisdiction over the OAA was supposed to vote last week on sending S. 1561 to the Senate floor for consideration. The committee postponed activity on the bill due the government shutdown.
However, we are working to gain cosponsors for the legislation to build momentum for its passage.