From Three of the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Members

ACTION ALERT
THE EMERGENCY FOOD & SHELTER PROGRAM’S
FUNDING IS IN JEOPARDY
 
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, and The Salvation Army seek your immediate assistance

 
March 7, 2011                                              

Contact: rob.goldberg@jewishfederations.org
                                                Link to this Action Alert at: http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=238429

 
Program Cuts: Looking to curb spending in FY2011 (October 1, 2010 – September 30, 2011), Congress, with the support of the Administration, has targeted the next EFSP Phase for a $100 million (50%) cut.  This cut could become law in a matter of weeks.  A cut this significant would severely curtail the strength and scope of the EFSP program, and impact community food and shelter programs across the country without impunity.  It will be an unprecedented loss to the program, in the midst of continued economic crises.
 
Action Required: We believe that nothing short of a major grassroots effort will curb the damaging cuts proposed for EFSP.  Please join us in our effort to turn back the cuts by contacting your respective Congressional delegations (House and Senate) ASAP, to educate them on the impact a cut this severe would have on your community’s EFSP recipient agencies and organizations.  Ask them to contact the respective House and Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittees and urge them to limit the proposed EFSP cut to 25% of FY2010 spending (equal to a $50 million program cut).
 
Reasoning: In the current fiscal environment, many domestic programs, including EFSP, cannot avoid some level of funding cuts.  Effectuating a $50 million cut to the EFSP program, however unpalatable as it may be, would reduce EFSP spending to $150 million, the equivalent of the program’s FY2008 funding level. At $150 million, the allocation would align with overall spending reductions called for by the new House Republican majority and strengthened Senate minority to limit overall FY2011 spending to FY2008 levels.  It would also amount to $50 million more than the President proposed for EFSP in FY2011. (A strong response from the field, now, would also help us defend against further EFSP funding erosion in fiscal year 2012, which Congress will  start considering in earnest this month, as well.)  
 
To contact your Congressional delegation, you can either call the congressional switchboard at: 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 for operator assistance, or retrieve the direct contact information at THOMAS.LOC.Gov.
 

 
 
The Senate is planning to orchestrate “test votes” on the year-end CR as early as tomorrow.  The House-passed draft long-term CR, which would be voted on, calls for more then $60 billion in cuts below FY2010 levels, including only $100 million for EFSP. However, a Senate Democratic drafted to be offered as an alternative proposal to also be voted on would fund EFSP at $150 million (our goal) in a bill that calls for just $6.5 billion in cuts.  Both bills are expected to fail passage when the Senate votes on them, but the effort is intended to jump start the hard negotiations.  The current short term CR expires on March 18^th.
 

 
SEC. 1635. Notwithstanding section 1101, the level for ‘‘Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Food and Shelter’’ shall be $150,000,000.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last year Snohomish County alone received  $508,948 in Emergency Food and Shelter funding from FEMA.  These funds supported Emergency Shelter, Food and Eviction Prevention services through the following agencies: