The House approved unprecedented and extreme cuts that will hurt millions of people.

These harsh cuts will come up for a vote in the Senate - probably by late today (Tuesday).

There are tens of millions of reasons* why you should pick up the phone and email to tell your Senators to VOTE NO on H.R. 1 and YES on the Senate alternative.

Use this toll-free number: 888-245-0215
(You'll be connected to the Capitol Switchboard - they'll put you through to your Senators)
Click and Send an Email:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/125/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5919

Why this much unshared sacrifice should make you mad enough to call and write:
The House cuts target the most vulnerable among us. They would force 81,000 older people to go without food, leave 10,000 people with serious disabilities without the ability to afford the housing they're in now, and leave millions of low-income students without the aid that makes it possible for them to go to college or to worker training programs. They would deny millions health care, both through cuts in community health centers now and by trying to cripple the new health care law. They do not take one dime away from give-aways to the oil and gas industries or from military contracts (in fact, they increase military spending). Just this past December, they continued tax cuts averaging $130,000 each for millionaires.
It is true - the decisions Congress makes now will affect our economic security. But we will not improve our economic security by hurting those vulnerable now and by preventing poor children and young workers from getting ahead. Most of the cuts in the House plan listed below are not made in the Senate bill.

The votes today are not the end of these struggles. But if senators do not hear from constituents when cuts as harsh as these are proposed, they will agree to harsh cuts. So call - 888-245-0215! Email!

* Some of the tens of millions of reasons Senators should vote NO on H.R. 1 - and why you should call/write to tell them:

* 218,000 young children would not be able to receive Head Start services
* 10,000 people with long-term disabilities would lose their current rental assistance; most will be forced out of their homes
* 11 million patients would lose health care they've received at Community Health Centers (for more than 3 million, the loss of health care would be almost immediate)
* 20 million people, including 5 million children, 2.3 million seniors and 1.7 million people with disabilities, would lose some or all of the anti-poverty help now provided by community action agencies
* 9.4 million low-income college students would lose some or all of their Pell Grants
* 8 million adults and youth would lose access to job training and other employment services
* 81,000 low-income people, mostly seniors, would no longer receive supplemental food packages
* 1.2 million poor households in public housing will see their rental units deteriorate further because of cuts to maintenance and repairs; some units will no longer be habitable.

That's not all. Many thousands of jobs would be lost (for example: 10,000 teachers, 5,000 health care staff, 55,000 Head Start staff). And the cuts would slow down the economy, threatening our fragile economic recovery, and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs, just as we've started to make some progress. And remember: there are far smarter ways to reduce the deficit. A combination of fair revenue increases (examples worth many billion$: collect more revenue now sheltered offshore, end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy) and reductions in wasteful spending (many examples in the military, as well as oil and gas industry subsidies, etc.) can reduce the deficit without hurting those most in need or threatening the economy.

Your calls will make a difference! A big vote against the House plan will help protect the vulnerable and the economy as Congress continues to negotiate. Your silence will mean the cuts will be worse. It's as simple as that.

For more information about the House plan and other budget background, see the CHN report, A Better Budget for All: Saving Our Economy and Helping Those in Need: http://www.chn.org/pdf/2011/BetterBudget4AllReport.pdf
For state data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showing the impact of the House cuts: http://www.cbpp.org/files/2-17-11bud.pdf