Dear Friends,

One thing that I always hear in my conversations with neighbors in the Third District is that the federal budget must address the challenges we face as a nation, and that it must reflect four primary national priorities: securing our country against a terrorist attack; seeing that our brave military personnel, veterans, and their families are supported; guaranteeing that our seniors have access to high-quality health care and prescription drugs; and ensuring that we have the best education system in the world.

Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve always done my best to make sure that the values of the people of the Third District are represented in Washington. I am concerned, however, that these priorities are not reflected in the proposed federal budget for 2007. For example:

• Homeland Security - The proposed budget cuts funding for first responders by 25% and cuts the COPS program, which has helped local police departments hire 118,000 police officers over the past 10 years, by 79%. If passed, this budget will mean that our community’s firefighters, police, and paramedics, who are already being asked to do more with less, will not be able to purchase needed equipment, hire additional staff, or be trained in terrorism prevention and response techniques.
• National Guard and Veterans – The proposed budget cuts funding for the National Guard and imposes new and higher co-pays on more than one million veterans nationwide, making it more difficult for many to access necessary health care. It also fails to end the Disabled Veterans Tax, which reduces the benefits of veterans with 20 years of service and a disability, so that 4,332 military retirees in Kansas receive the benefits they were promised.
• Health Care - The proposed budget also includes $36 billion in cuts to Medicare over 5 years, which would result in $168,385,916 in cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home health care providers serving seniors and people with disabilities in Kansas.
• Education - The proposed budget would provide $57,737,798 less for the education of children with disabilities in KS than promised, and Head Start, a program that provides 7,949 Kansas children with vital early education services, is underfunded once again.

In Washington, we often hear a lot of talk about values. I have found in my seven years in Congress that often a real measure of values is not what people say, but where they choose to spend their money. The federal budget is a values document. I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure that the federal budget for 2007 makes the necessary investments in our safety and security, in the well-being of military families and veterans, in health care for our seniors, and in public education.

Very truly yours,

DENNIS MOORE
Member of Congress