How the ‘fiscal showdown’ impacts LGBT people

The Task Force and the Center for American Progress, along with nearly two dozen other groups, released a report today highlighting how LGBT people and their families will be impacted if Congress and the president fail to reach an agreement on the “fiscal showdown.” Everyone has been hearing about the “fiscal cliff” and sequestration, but what does it all actually mean? In the report, Caught in the Budget Battle: How the ‘Fiscal Showdown’ Impacts Gay and Transgender Americans, we explain what this Washington fight is all about and what it means for LGBT people and their families across the country — because the consequences are dire. Read the report here.

Automatic cuts to federal spending would slash vital programs and services that provide much-needed support to traditionally marginalized groups, including LGBT people. From funding to reduce homelessness and improve health, to investigations of bullying and violence, the ability of local organizations and federal offices to protect people of all stripes hangs on the outcome of the fiscal showdown. Check out the report to find out more about what specific programs are at risk and why they are important to our community.

The federal budget and how it treats the economically disadvantaged, the elderly, the young and families is something the Task Force has worked on for a long time. The federal purse has immense power across the country to help those most in need. A federal budget and a tax structure that predominantly benefits the wealthy is not only unfair, it’s immoral.

Last week, the Task Force and a coalition of organizations sent a letter to Congress calling for a fair budget that protects at-risk and marginalized people and communities. From Medicare and Medicaid to Social Security and poverty reduction programs, the federal government has an obligation to provide basic needs to everyone in the country. In one of the richest countries in the world, we have the resources to do this — we only need the will to do it. Don’t talk about cutting entitlement programs, talk about how the most fortunate and well-off — from the high-income earners to corporations — need to pay their fair share. We have an obligation to care for another and the federal government is in the best position to facilitate the effort.

Read the report. Talk to your friends and family about why the budget is important. And then contact your elected official and tell them you demand a budget that protects the at-risk and marginalized.