House and Senate never agreed on the S.Con.Res 95 conference report.
The Legislation:
The Amendment to Restore Medicaid and Earned Income Tax Credit Programs to the 2005 budget resolution removes language in the budget resolution that would have cut Medicaid funding by $11 billion over five years and reduced Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) outlays by $3 billion. The cuts were originally introduced as a way to raise revenue and fund other tax cuts.
The Middle-Class Position:
The Middle Class Supports. Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program are vital for low-income Americans seeking to move into the middle class. The EITC provides a refund to low-wage workers, depending on the size of their families. The program lifts nearly 4.8 million Americans out of poverty by boosting the incomes of working people trying to support their families on entry-level wages as they seek to get ahead. Many EITC beneficiaries are former welfare recipients becoming self-supporting for the first time. What's more, EITC rebates have an immediate positive effect on the economy as a whole because low-income families are the most likely to spend their money right away on food, clothing, transportation and other necessities. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage for low-income people, as well as some senior citizens and people with disabilities. While eligibility for Medicaid varies by state, the program provides insurance for over 50 million Americans who would otherwise be left without access to needed medical care. Federal cuts to Medicaid funding would push more of the burden onto the states, which are already struggling with swelling Medicaid costs. Restoring proposed cuts to these programs helps low-income working Americans and their families to climb into the middle class.
From the Experts:
“[The Earned Income Tax Credit is] the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress."—President Ronald Reagan (October 1986)
“More than 52 million vulnerable Americans, many of whom are children and seniors, rely on Medicaid. With many states in fiscal crisis, Medicaid reductions at the federal level would drastically unravel an already frail health care safety net.” —American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, Federation of American Hospitals, and 21 other health care associations (December 16, 2004)
“The EITC helps families jump-start their financial future by paying bills, reducing debt, opening savings accounts," —Doug Nelson, President, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (November 19, 2004)
Beyond this Bill:
When the federal budget for fiscal year 2006 comes up for consideration, the temptation to cut spending on Medicaid is likely to arise once again. A large entitlement program with growing costs, Medicaid looks at first like an appealing target for increased savings at a time when deficits stretch as far as the eye can see. But legislators should remember that Medicaid is all that keeps 50 million Americans from joining the ranks of the 45 million who already lack health insurance. With state governments already struggling to meet their obligations under the program, there is little room to squeeze the program on the federal level without striking a severe blow to the most vulnerable Americans. Irresponsible tax cuts, not increases in the cost of programs like Medicaid, drove the country into deficit. Meanwhile a reduction in the Earned Income Tax Credit would mean a tax increase for the lowest-income workers to offset the massive tax cuts granted to the wealthiest investors. This blatant injustice has no place in America. Legislators must not crush the aspirations of low-income Americans struggling to enter the middle class by cutting back Medicaid or the Earned Income Tax Credit.
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Injustice Index Facts
Number of working Americans lifted out of poverty each year by the Earned Income Tax Credit: 4.8 million
Maximum income for a single parent with two children to qualify for the EITC: $34,458
Income of the households that get the largest tax cut in dollar terms from other tax legislation enacted in 2004: $200,00–$500,000
Percentage of births in the United States paid for by Medicaid: 40
Percentage of nursing home days paid for by Medicaid: almost half
Minimum proportion of American children who get their health care coverage from Medicaid: 1 in 4
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