ACTION ALERT: TAKE ACTION TODAY!!!

Budget Cuts Proposed by House will Destroy North Carolina!

There is no way to overstate the dire nature of the proposed House budget cuts:
-People will die
-Tens of thousands of North Carolinians will lose their jobs
-Our education and human service system will be destroyed

On Thursday, June 4th, the House Appropriations Subcommittee forwarded “their recommendations” to the full Appropriations Committee. Their recommendations come with no vote or real support. Many House members now state publicly that a “revenue” (tax) package is needed to offset these cuts.

In Health and Human Services alone, the proposed cuts, when federal matching dollars are taken into account, will equal over three billion dollars!

These HHS cuts would most likely result in:
An actual reduction of services to people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse of close to one billion dollars
Homelessness
Family and individual crisis
Jeopardizing the health and safety of tens of thousands of people
Job losses for 50-90 thousand North Carolinians

In education, the cuts will:
Increase class size
Eliminate thousands of teaching positions, and most support services
We believe these cuts will end all inclusion programs and enhanced services for students with disabilities.

These cuts will destabilize our social service network with unintended consequences too horrific to imagine!

Action Needed!
Because of the huge public outcry last week, House members are beginning to think twice about their actions, but without continued calls, they will proceed with these cuts.

The week, we need you, your friends, family and neighbors to:
CALL THE CHAIRS OF THE FULL HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE AND THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE.

House Appropriations Chairs:

Rep. Henry Michaux, Jr. 919.715.2528
Rep. Alma Adams 919.733.5902
Rep. Martha Alexander 919.733.5807
Rep. James Crawford, Jr. 919.733.5824
Rep. R. Phillip Haire 919.715.3005
Rep. Maggie Jeffus 919.733.5191
Rep. Joe Tolson 919.715.3024
Rep. Douglas Yongue 919.733.5821

Office of the Governor:

Gov. Bev Perdue 919.733.4240

The message is simple:
Stop these horrific cuts – raise taxes to avoid destroying North Carolina.

If you need talking points, a few things to mention:
Cutting Medicaid Personal Care by half forces people into institutions.
Cutting state funded developmental disability services eliminates crises and safety net services.
Eliminating PT/OT and ST for Medicaid is cruel and will result in wasted lives.
Freezing the CAP-MR/DD program destroys hope.
Not only do these cuts destroy our Human Service system, they also send the economy into a deeper recession because of job losses.

Act this week – your call will make a difference. Every single call makes a difference!

Check The Arc of North Carolina’s web page for additional talking points throughout the week. Go to www.arcnc.org

Come to Raleigh on June 17th to join others to lobby your legislators on these issues! More details will follow but for now hold that date.

Also be sure to go to The Arc of NC’s webpage and read the latest edition of The Arc Works! our electronic newsletter. 

Thank you for your advocacy! Please make the calls. Every single call makes a difference.