Progressive Groups Call on Lawmakers to Exclude Policy Riders from Budget
(PRESS RELEASE) The Center for Reproductive
Rights has joined a broad coalition of progressive organizations, including
Environment America, Families USA, SEIU, Common Cause and DC Vote, to call on
the White House and Senate leaders to exclude any policy riders in legislation
that will fund the government for this fiscal year. The demands come as
lawmakers work towards a budget deal before the federal spending authority
runs out in eight days.
In joint letters sent to the
President Obama and Vice President and Senator Leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) and
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this evening, the coalition contends, “There have
not been any hearings related to these extraordinarily far-reaching proposals.
This back-door means of legislating does not allow for adequate debate about
the merits of such sweeping policy changes, which deserve full deliberation by
both chambers in the course of the normal legislative process… We urge you to
adopt a strict policy of rejecting all such provisions in subsequent 2011
spending bills, rather than negotiating one harmful rider against
another.”
The coalition encompasses 139
groups working on range of issues, including reproductive rights, environmental
issues, labor, consumer advocacy, healthcare, immigration and good government.
“It’s about time that
lawmakers heard the voices of Americans who support a wide range of issues from
reproductive health to consumer advocacy. They strongly oppose lawmakers trying
to legislate sweeping policy changes in this federal spending plan and will be
watching to see what happens over the next few days,” said Laura
MacCleery, director of Government Relations at the Center for Reproductive
Rights.
