The NAACP is not sounding very optimistic that the White House and Congress will reach a deal and avoid automatic budget cuts. They released the following statement:
Barring any last minute deals, “sequestration”, or a series of reckless, across-the-board cuts of almost every discretionary federal program, both defense and non-defense related, will go into effect this Friday, March 1, 2013. Due to the potential devastation of sequestration on almost every American, and the disproportionate impact it would have on the most vulnerable among us, the NAACP continues to call on Congress to put aside its partisan bickering and develop a balanced budget which does not do additional harm to the programs which serve us all.
Here are just a few examples of what will be cut:
- Childhood Vaccinations: it is estimated that almost 212,000 children will not be vaccinated;
- Head Start: almost 100,000 fewer low-income children would be served;
- Screenings for breast and cervical cancer: as many as 34,000 fewer women would be screened;
- Meals-On-Wheels: for seniors who are not able to get out, 17 million fewer meals would be served;
- Job training, education or employment services: 1.6 million fewer adults, dislocated workers and at-risk youth would receive these vital services;
- Public housing support will be cut by about $1.94 billion;
- Medicare will be cut by 2%
- Special Education grants to states and localities will be cut by $840 million; and
- The federal prison system gets cut by $355 million.
“The NAACP has always fought for voting rights and will never stop advocating for unfettered access to the ballot box for all Americans,” stated Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors. “We are driven by the legacy of those who sacrificed time, resources, and in many cases, their lives for this fundamental right. We must ensure that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is preserved.”
“This case comes on the heels of an election year in which our nation witnessed the greatest assault on voting rights since the Jim Crow era,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “Section 5 is the heart of the VRA. Shelby County v. Holder threatens to erode the essential protections that Section 5 provides for all Americans. “
“I think it is important for people across America to rally for this piece of legislation that is at jeopardy,” said Benard Simelton, President of the NAACP Alabama State Conference. “Too many have died and suffered for the fundamental and basic right to vote. We must continue our efforts to ensure that everyone’s votes are counted, regardless of race, creed, or color.”
“The Shelby County case is a major marker in our nations march towards the kind of just society Dr. King had envisioned,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the NAACP Texas State Conference. “At this point we will either turn back the clock and reignite the fires of the past, or we will continue to move in a direction that recognizes that every citizens basic and fundamental rights, such as the right to vote.”
“I am honored to witness those that are interested in protecting democracy and freedom for all people,” Lonnie Randolph, President of the NAACP South Carolina State Conference. “In light of the most egregious attacks on voting rights since the Jim Crow era, we are here today to support the continued use of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and ensure that we do not continue on this harmful trajectory.”
“Fourty-Seven years of partial relief is hardly sufficient,” Rev. Dr. William Barber, President of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference. Quote. “We must remain vigilant and protect the Voting rights act now more than ever to insure protection against every attempt to steal stifle and suppress the power and potential of the black vote.”
“We are mobilizing NAACP members and units across the nation, from Alaska to Florida,” said Jotaka Eaddy, Senior Director for Voting Rights. “We encourage all those that fight for voting rights to join the NAACP and its allies on the steps of the Supreme Court as we fight for democracy.”
The Voting Rights Act, signed into law in 1965 and reauthorized with bipartisan support in 2006, allows the Department of Justice to defend against discriminatory voting practices. Section 5 of the Act gives the Department of Justice the ability to block discriminatory voting laws before they are enacted in states or sections of states with an egregious history of voter suppression.
The NAACP’s Alabama State Conference is an intervener in the case and the Texas, South Carolina and Florida State Conferences have filed an amicus brief in support of Section 5. In addition to defending the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court, NAACP leaders will work with state and local officials to pass laws to expand voting rights, including same day registration/voting, extended early voting, and restoring voting rights for the formerly incarcerated.
Do you think Washington will come to their senses?
