Little Lobbyists Statement on the Passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act
When President Biden addressed the nation regarding the legislation passed to avert the debt ceiling crisis he asked, “What do we value?” He called for unity and bipartisanship, and said that we must treat each other with dignity and respect.
Dignity means seeing the value in every person. Respect mandates inclusion. But two months ago, rather than agree to raise the debt ceiling, the Republican House threatened our nation’s economic wellbeing in order to extract funding from the programs millions of people rely on to survive, including our children with complex medical needs and disabilities and their families.
The Republican bill would have rescinded progress on everything from climate change to student debt, and made extreme cuts to already underfunded programs for health care, nutrition, and education— including Medicaid and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Under this threat, we watched the Biden Administration work toward a compromise. We were heartened by the President’s promises to protect Medicaid, but, as our country teetered on the brink of fiscal calamity, we worried that those of us already at the margins would be pushed over the edge.
To protect our kids, we advocated and shared our stories. We spoke truth to power as we’ve done since 2017 — the last time Republicans had control of the House and passed a different bill endangering the lives of our children.
They failed in 2017. They failed this time, too.
We lifted our voices alongside others. To everyone in our collective choir, we give thanks.
We are grateful President Biden held strong in his commitment to protect our nation’s health care. We are grateful that a deal was reached to protect our country’s economy without sacrificing the programs our children with complex medical needs and disabilities rely on to survive and thrive in their homes and communities, where they belong.
It is true that the Fiscal Responsibility Act is a compromise in which neither political party got all it wanted. It is also true that the politicians who decide what to compromise will not be the people most harmed. Our concern is for those who had no say, but are forced to sacrifice their access to nutrition or the health and safety of their environment.
We ask for dignity and respect for our children, and for every person whose worth and well-being has been repeatedly disregarded by politicians. To protect our families, the Biden Administration must do everything in its power to prevent this unnecessary crisis from happening again.
