by Mary Ann McGivern
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I imagine most NCR readers are dismayed that Congress reinstated the hours of air traffic controllers facing furloughs while refusing to end housing voucher cuts and Head Start reductions. But if we want to roll up our sleeves and work to restore assistance to the poor, the best source I've found is the Coalition for Human Needs.
The Coalition on Human Needs has begun compiling a weekly list of examples of our losses, sorted by topic, caused by the sequestration. Cuts to address homelessness, service to seniors, and food security are described as they affect local communities around the country. If you have examples of the impact of sequestration in your community, the site invites you to submit them.
Here are simple actions the coalition suggests we take:
- Coalition on Human Needs emailable letter to Congress: Fix Life-Changing Cuts, Not Just Inconveniences
- Campaign for America's Future/Daily Kos emailable letter to Congress: Repeal the Sequester
- Half in Ten Campaign Sequestration Toolkit (sample press release, letter to the editor, tweets, how to tell your story, helpful graphics)
- National Education Association: Ed Flight campaign (take a picture of yourself holding a paper airplane and post it to Congress)
- MoveOn.org petition: Fix the Sequester Cuts for the Poor, Not Just Congressional Travel
The coalition also lists sources for background information:
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Congress Addresses Flight Delays But Leaves Other Sequestration Problems Unsolved by Sharon Parrott, Vice President for Budget Policy and Economic Opportunity
- Coalition on Human Needs: Fear of Flying: Congress Fixes Waits in Airports but Lets the Poor Wait One More Year for Housing Vouchers, in Human Needs Report
- Center for American Progress, Sequestration Nation: Congress Acts to Ease Sequestration's Pain on Air Travelers by Kwami Boadi
- Coalition on Human Needs: Sequester Impact: Weekly Summaries (collected since March 5)
Finally, we can use those specific cuts the coalition is documenting to write our own letters to Congress and to editors. It's past time to get to work on this.