CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-us.org
OVER 70 NATIONAL AND STATE ORGANIZATIONS SOUND ALARM ON $2 TRILLION IN FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS TO SERVICES ON FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF ARPA
As Nation Faces $2 Trillion in Proposed Federal Budget Cuts to Pay for Tax Breaks for Billionaires, Groups Point to Historic $1.9 Trillion ARPA Investments as Path to Solve Longstanding Challenges in Communities
In Sign-On Letter, Groups Highlight Local Budget Gaps as ARPA Funds End in Cities Across the Nation
NEW YORK — Today marks the fourth anniversary of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion investment into solving local problems and uplifting everyday people during the COVID crisis. Across the nation, millions benefited from housing subsidies, eviction prevention programs, nutritional assistance programs, and access to health care services. Now as ARPA funds run out, cities are struggling to fill massive budget gaps.
To mark the anniversary of the vital role the federal government played and raise the alarm on disastrous proposed cuts to services in exchange for billionaire tax breaks, more than 70 organizations signed onto a letter by VOCAL-US to demand Congress to reject tax cuts for billionaires on the anniversary of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Excerpt from the letter to Congress:
“As ARPA funds dwindle and Congress plans for cuts to communities, millions of people are still struggling. The nation’s income inequality is a glaring injustice, where the ultra-rich have amassed unimaginable wealth, while poor and working families are left behind. Billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and the wealthiest 1% now earn more than 20 times the average worker. They stand to profit even more if the cuts go through.
The lessons of ARPA are clear: bold investment in government programs and services provides relief, stability, and long-term prosperity. Divestment for the benefit of the ultra-rich will only exacerbate poverty and inequality, worsen health outcomes, deepen housing affordability and homelessness, and undermine economic stability, all while benefiting the ultra-rich.”
“I am a U.S. Veteran and I was homeless for 7 and a half years in Austin. For most of that time, I slept under a bridge near the airport. Last year I got connected to services, got a temporary rapid rehousing voucher. Now I have a job and live in a house, have a garden, and a kitchen to cook in,” said Alfredo Reyes Jr., VOCAL-TX Organizer. “None of this would have been possible without ARPA funds Austin received to create programs like the one I am in right now. It’s devastating that those funds are ending and our City is struggling to figure out how to continue these programs, while Trump and Congress are trying to cut more programs and services that could help us.”
“Louisville used ARPA funds for homelessness, overdose, and mental health services. Some of our frontline programs that provide shelter to people on the streets have already had to change their entire programs due to ARPA funds running out,” said Shameka Parrish Wright, Director of VOCAL-KY. “The impacts are felt so deeply. We don’t have enough housing or services for people that need support, and our City can’t front the bill alone. It’s outrageous that Trump and Congress are proposing more cuts to pay for the ultra-wealthy.”
“When people in America were in crisis, the federal government proved it could step in and invest in the services that stabilized our communities,” said Kim Smith, VOCAL-NY Political Director. “In Rochester, among so many other cities, funds were to be used to ensure our people had food on their table and a safe place to sleep every night. Just four years later, these same services are under attack in the proposed federal budget, despite seeing how vital they’ve been. If Congress moves forward with cutting trillions of dollars from federal social services like SNAP, Section 8, and Medicaid, we can expect to see our communities fall further into poverty with no way to recover. It’s unacceptable.”
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