Dear finboy:
Texas residents are facing severe cuts if George Bush's new budget becomes law -- but you can help stop it in its tracks.
Bush recently unveiled his reckless plan to privatize Social Security, and now he's touting a budget that slashes key programs that help Texas's working families.
Bush plans devastating cuts to America's top priorities, from homeland security to health care to education to benefits for veterans and much more. Despite these cuts, this budget is a fiscal disaster, with Bush's trademark irresponsibility pushing America deeper into the red with another record deficit.
And this budget is a huge disaster for Texas. Here are just a few of the cuts Texas faces under Bush's 2006 budget:
Homeland Security
The Bush 2006 budget cuts $420 million to state and local funding for homeland security, including a $55.7 million cut for Texas. These cuts will take police and firefighters off your streets.
The Bush budget cuts the COPS program, which has put 6,124 officers on Texas streets, by 96 percent.
Health Care
The Bush budget cuts $45 billion from Medicaid, enough to provide health care to 1.8 million children. Texas's share of these cuts is $2.7 billion.
Bush's budget cuts the very same community and rural health care programs he touted during the campaign, even though more than 626,000 Texas residents have lost their health care coverage since Bush took office due to his failures.
Education
Bush underfunds his own No Child Left Behind Act by $13.1 billion in his budget. In Texas, that means a shortfall of $1.1 billion, leaving behind 272,271 Texas children.
Bush promised to fund Pell Grants in his State of the Union address, but his budget is $6.6 billion short. That's $516.7 million less than what's needed in Texas, a real burden for the 355,653 students in Texas who receive the grants.
Other Priorities
The Bush budget would require many veterans to pay a new $250 annual "user fee" to use the Veterans Administration health care system, and would double the prescription drug co-payment for the 1,754,809 Texas veterans.
Bush cuts Texas clean water programs by $17.7 million.
Bush's 2006 budget also cuts the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program -- which helps low-income families afford heating fuel in the winter -- by $234.4 million, including $5.2 million cut for Texas residents.
And Bush's irresponsible budget is a record $427 billion in the red, increasing each Texas family's share of the federal debt by $36,536.
Take Action
Take action today to help stop Bush's disastrous budget in its tracks. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper explaining why Bush's budget is such a disaster for America.
Be sure to include some of the facts about Texas above, or download our full report here for even more useful information.
Write your letter here:
http://www.democrats.org/action
And be sure to tell your friends to join in. Forward this email to all your friends in Texas, or tell them to find the report for their own state here:
http://www.democrats.org/bushbudget
Sincerely,
The DNC Grassroots Action Team
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