We have just seen the latest salvo in what promises to be a challenging debate over the proposed Federal budget. A flurry of articles in the press have sought to examine the document, all the while, affirming that this is just a proposal, and that Congress will (or should) have the ultimate say in what gets spent and where. It seems that, on first reading, the nearly 23 percent requested cuts will come from “nondefense discretionary” spending which “excludes the Pentagon as well as programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.” (Washington Post).
However, in today’s (May 6) notes from Axios, there is another warning that “Republican leaders in the House are caught between wary moderates and conservative hardliners in trying to hit a target of up to $880 billion in Medicare savings”. This number has been floated for weeks and, as we can assume, the discussion is on-going and shrouded in political implications. One sure thing is that many people’s health care will be impacted by these decisions and the resulting political fallout. Thus, again, if you are a ble, it is imperative that each of us contact our representatives/senators and remind them of the need to strengthen, not weaken, Medicare,
On the surface many will be pleased. However, the debate is just beginning and with a call to trim some $163 billion in spending, many are still concerned that there will be a variety of attempts to, in some way, find some of that money from the sacred three. However, our generation, and families also must be aware that significant cuts have been proposed to key institutions that will and have, impacted our lives and health. In the budget proposal are cuts to all the CDC’s chronic disease programs, Likewise, we are seeing a call to cut a “little more than one-third” of the total budget for the National Institute of Health. We have already seen cuts to grants etc. to research facilities that often generate new drugs, treatments and cures for diseases. As important as defense is, the proposed budget also takes a cut to a variety of social programs aimed at people in need such as Low-Income Energy Assistance, childcare programs and others that, according to budget experts, will have a greater impact on the populations that need this support than on any other segment.
Why do we raise this issue? Our tradition is steeped in the Prophetic call to take care of the poor, the needy, those who lack basic needs. We just emerged from Passover and read the Haggadah which reminded us of this sacred obligation. It is in our best interests to be aware of the budget debates and what maneuvers will be tried to “find” that money. Rest assured that the attempt to find some of that within the reservoir of Medicare and Medicaid will be part of the Congressional debates. No one knows how this will play out between now and when this process ends, but vigilance and awareness will serve us well for these decisions will impact all of us.
Shalom,
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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