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Congress Delays Budget Review in Wake of Katrina

Action Still Needed to Stop Devastating Medicaid Cuts

September 9, 2005 – In the face of Gulf Coast devastation, a bipartisan group of Senators this week condemned efforts to weaken the federal safety- net program that provides health care to vulnerable populations and called for Congress to focus instead on the short- and long-term needs of Hurricane Katrina victims. The House and Senate have agreed to postpone reconciliation until mid-October. Calls to lawmakers are still important.

Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) joined to press for an indefinite delay to the budget reconciliation scheduled for September 16 – deadline imposed by the Budget Act – that would cut Medicaid spending by $10 billion over five years.

Use the Time to Educate Lawmakers About Core Medicaid Services

This gives advocates a little more time to educate members of Congress about the crucial importance of the Rehabilitation and Targeted Case Management provisions on which so many people with mental disorders rely. (For details, see the Bazelon Center’s August 18 Action Alert, http://www.bazelon.org/takeaction/2005/8-18-05medicaid.htm)

The healthcare needs of hundreds of thousands of adults and children displaced by Katrina are a persuasive rationale for lawmakers to reject the Administration’s proposed amendments to core Medicaid services. Members of Congress must recognize that it is unconscionable to consider legislation that would provide less care to needy Americans.

Talking Points on the Administration's Proposal to Cut Key Services The Bazelon Center's August 18 Alert The Bazelon Center's September 1 Alert Our Update on Mental Health-Related Legislation The Administration's proposed amedments to the Rehabilitation and Targeted Case Management Options Sample letter from the Campaign for Mental Health Reform to selected lawmakers

Take action!

The Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider both the overall reduction and the Administration’s proposed amendments, which, if enacted, would have a crippling effect on community mental health services.

Call the members of these committees (listed below), starting with any from your own state. Tell them:

* Congress should indefinitely delay budget reconciliation.

* Congress must reject cuts to Medicaid in the wake of Katrina

* Congress must focus on the current health and related needs of the American public as it seeks to recover from the devastation imposed by Katrina. Cuts to Medicaid would create a second disaster.

* The Administration’s proposals on Medicaid’s Rehabilitation and Targeted Case Management option would cripple community mental health care. They must be rejected.

Senate Finance Committee

Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), Chair, (202) 224-3744
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Ranking Member, (202) 224-2651
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), (202) 224-5251
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), (202) 224-6253
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), (202) 224-5344
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), (202) 224-4521
Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY), (202) 224-6441
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), (202) 224-6324
Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), (202) 224-3344
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), (202) 224-3753
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), (202) 224-4343
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), (202) 224-6142
Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), (202) 224-6472
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), (202) 224-2043
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), (202) 224-5521
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), (202) 224-2742
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), (202) 224-4843
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), (202) 224-5244
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), (202) 224-6542
Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT), (202) 224-5141

House Energy and Commerce Committee

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX-6th), Chair, (202) 225-2002
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI-15th), Ranking Member, (202) 225-4071
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX-4th), (202) 225-6673
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL-9th), (202) 225-5755
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI-6th), (202) 225-3761
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL-6th), (202) 225-5744
Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-OH-5th), (202) 225-6405
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA-10th), (202) 225-5211
Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-KY-1st), (202) 225-3115
Rep. Charles Norwood (R-GA-9th), (202) 225-4101
Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY-At-Large), (202) 225-2311
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL-19th), (202) 225-5271
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM-1st), (202) 225-6316
Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ-3rd), (202) 225-3361
Rep. Charles Pickering (R-MS-3rd), (202) 225-5031
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY-13th), (202) 225-3371
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO-7th), (202) 225-6536
Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN-4th), (202) 225-5037
Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA-19th), (202) 225-4540
Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH-2nd), (202) 225-5206
Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA-16th), (202) 225-2411
Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA-45th), (202) 225-5330
Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-2nd), (202) 225-6730
Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE-2nd), (202) 225-4155
Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ-7th), (202) 225-5361
Rep. Michael Rogers (R-MI-8th), (202) 225-4872
Rep. C.L. Otter (R-ID-1st), (202) 225-6611
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC-9th), (202) 225-1976
Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK-1st), (202) 225-2211
Rep. Timothy Murphy (R-PA-18th), (202) 225-2301
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX-26th), (202) 225-7772
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7th), (202) 225-2811
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA-30th), (202) 225-3976
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA-7th), (20 2) 225-2836
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA-9th), (202) 225-3861
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY-10th), (202) 225-5936
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6th), (202) 225-4671
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH-13th), (202) 225-3401
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN-6th), (202) 225-4231
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL-1st), (202) 225-4372
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI-1st), (202) 225-4735
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-14th), (202) 225-8104
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY-17th), (202) 225-2464
Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD-4th), (202) 225-8699
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX-29th), (202) 225-1688
Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH-6th), (202) 225-5705
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO-1st), (202) 225-4431
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA-23rd), (202) 225-3601
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA-14th), (202) 225-2135
Rep. Thomas Allen (D-ME-1st), (202) 225-6116
Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL-11th), (202) 225-3376
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL-9th), (202) 225-2111
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA-32nd), (202) 225-5464
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX-20th), (202) 225-3236
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA-1st), (202) 225-6311
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-2nd), (202) 225-2906
Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR-4th), (202) 225-3772

Call Today

Call the number on the list, or you can go through the Capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121. If you’re a constituent from the Senator’s state or the Representative’s district, be sure to say so.

Email is less effective, but still counts, so if you can’t call, use the email link you’ll find on each Senator’s page at congress.org.

Fair Use Policy

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