Call Your Senators
Now to Protect Medicaid
March 11, 2005
Senator Gordon Smith, (R-OR) has announced his intention to
offer a Senate floor amendment to restore Medicaid funding
that was cut in the budget passed by the Senate Budget committee
yesterday. In place of the cuts, Sen. Smith supports creation
of a bipartisan commission that would conduct a comprehensive
review of Medicaid to determine how to improve service delivery
and quality in the most cost-effective manner. This amendment
will be co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Senator Bingaman, (D-NM).
The Smith-Bingaman amendment is must-pass legislation ,
and the vote is expected as early as next Tuesday, March 15,
2005 .
Action Requested
Our Medicaid coalition wants to flood the Senate with calls,
emails and faxes to support the Smith/Bingaman amendment to
the budget resolution striking cuts to Medicaid in the Senate
budget resolution. The floor debate will begin Tuesday,
March 15 and the calls must be in by this date. Our
Medicaid coalition has a toll free phone line to the Senate
switchboard that NASW members should use to make these calls.
The line will remain active until the vote on the amendment
is completed. The toll free line is: 1-800-828-0498.
Telephone Message
The 800-number will take callers directly to the Capitol switchboard,
where you must ask for your Senator by name. Once connected
to your Senator's office, tell the receptionist that you wish
to leave a short message on the pending floor vote on the budget
resolution. Then simply state , “Senator, please support
the Smith/Bingaman Amendment to strike cuts in Medicaid from
the budget resolution.” Make sure that you make two phone
calls, one for each of your Senators. If you do not know the
names of your Senators, you can find them at www.senate.gov
Please forward this message to friends and colleagues.
Background
President Bush has called for billions of dollars in Medicaid
cuts and GOP congressional leaders have built large Medicaid
cuts into their respective versions of the budget resolutions
now pending on the Senate and House floors. These large Medicaid
cuts ($15-20 billion in the House plan and $15 billion in the
Senate plan) are drawing opposition from many Senators, including
some Republicans, who are caught between their desire to support
GOP leaders and pressure from home-state governors resisting
the cuts. If Medicaid cuts are placed in the final budget resolution,
Congress will be forced to implement large cuts later this
year.
More to Come from NASW
During the period March 19 through April 4, Congress will
recess and members will be in their states and districts. This
recess period offers an ideal opportunity for NASW members
to contact their Representative and Senators on critical budget
and spending issues. To further inform you before these contacts,
NASW will send out another action alert late next week outlining
our latest strategy. Additional information is available at http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/issues/budget.asp |
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