The following info may be of interest. It indicates with stark clarity
the situation facing those intrested in promoting human development in
this very wealthy country. If it upsets you, be sure not to think about
the situation facing children in Africa, it could spoil your whole
day.
mike
---- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 10, 2002 12:01 AM CONTACT: Childrens Defense Fund Gigi Hinton 202-662-3609=20 =20 Corporate Welfare vs. Child Welfare: Congressional Scorecard Reveals Who Chose Children =20 =20 WASHINGTON - July 10 - In 2001, Congress passed the President's $1.3 tril= lion tax cut, which gives hundreds of billions of dollars to the wealthie= st taxpayers while leaving millions of children behind. The 2001 Children= 's Defense Fund Action Council Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard, relea= sed today, documents how U.S. Senators and Representatives used the power= of their offices as they cast votes affecting the lives of America's chi= ldren. It records vote after vote in which individual members made choice= s that favored corporate welfare and the rich over child welfare and the = poor.=20 Members of Congress were scored on 10 key votes cast in 2001 that had a s= ignificant impact on children's well-being. Co-sponsorship of the compreh= ensive Act to Leave No Child Behind (S.940/H.R.1990), introduced in May 2= 001 by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Representative George Miller (= D-Calif.), was also considered. The CDF Action Council applauds the 10 Se= nators and 48 Representatives who co-sponsored the Act and scored 100 per= cent in 2001. Eight Senators and 95 Representatives consistently left chi= ldren behind in 2001 with disgraceful scores below 10 percent.=20"How can any Member of Congress say we don't have the money to pay for ch= ild care and health care and education and after-school programs for our = children when the same Congress voted for a tax cut that gives billions t= o the richest Americans with average incomes over $1 million," said Maria= n Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund and the CDF Ac= tion Council. "We don't have a money problem in this country, we have a p= riorities and values problem. We must hold our leaders accountable for th= e choices they make. It is time to freeze the tax cuts for millionaires a= nd invest in our children."=20
The Best Senators for Children in 2001=20
Clinton (NY).....100 percent=20 Dayton (MN)......100 percent=20 Dodd (CT)........100 percent=20 Inouye (HI)......100 percent=20 Kennedy (MA).....100 percent=20 Mikulski (MD)....100 percent=20 Reed, Jack (RI)..100 percent=20 Sarbanes (MD)....100 percent=20 Schumer (NY).....100 percent=20 Wellstone (MN)...100 percent=20
The Worst Senators for Children in 2001=20
Allard (CO)...........9 percent=20 Smith, Robert (NH). 9 percent=20 Enzi (WY).............9 percent=20 Voinovich (OH)........9 percent=20 Gramm, Phil (TX)......9 percent=20 Helms (NC)............0 percent=20 Kyl (AZ)..............9 percent=20 Nickles (OK)..........0 percent=20
The Congressional Scorecard shows that the House of Representatives voted= to provide more than $7 billion in tax cuts to 16 large corporations jus= t weeks after deciding they could not afford to guarantee $1 billion in h= elp for abused and neglected children. The new corporate tax breaks were = in addition to the President's tax bill that will continue to rob childre= n for years to come. According to an analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice= :=20
-- From 2001 to 2010 the wealthiest one percent of Americans with average= incomes over a million dollars would pocket almost a half trillion dolla= rs from the Bush tax cuts. Each member of this elite group will average $= 342,000 in tax cuts over the decade.=20
-- By 2010, when (and if) the tax cuts are fully in place, an astonishing= 52 percent of the total will go to the wealthiest one percent whose indi= vidual windfall in that year alone will average $85,000.=20
The Congressional Scorecard reveals a wide disparity in the ratings among= state delegations based on their members' votes.=20
The Best Delegations for Children in 2001=20
Hawaii..........91 percent=20 Rhode Island....91 percent=20 North Dakota....88 percent=20 Vermont.........88 percent=20 Massachusetts...88 percent=20 West Virginia...75 percent=20 Oregon..........74 percent=20 Arkansas........71 percent=20 Delaware........70 percent=20 South Dakota....70 percent=20
The Worst Delegations for Children in 2001=20
Alabama.........29 percent=20 Utah............27 percent=20 Kansas..........24 percent=20 Kentucky........22 percent=20 Oklahoma........20 percent=20 Arizona.........18 percent=20 New Hampshire...16 percent=20 Alaska..........15 percent=20 Idaho...........14 percent=20 Wyoming..........9 percent=20
"It is a national disgrace that nearly 12 million children live in povert= y, more than 9 million children are uninsured, and 7 million children are= home alone after school in the richest nation on earth," said Edelman. "= It is time for Congress to 'leave no child behind(r)' rather than 'leave = no millionaire behind'."=20
To review the complete Congressional Scorecard, visit http://www.cdfactio= ncouncil.org
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