ATLANTA — Today, 9to5, National Association of Working Women’s Georgia Chapter issued a letter to U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-7), co-signed by 40 additional Georgia based advocacy organizations, to demand that she support the FY 2022 Budget Resolution. Bourdeaux and eight of her Democratic colleagues in the House indicated that they would not vote for the budget reconciliation package before the bipartisan infrastructure bill is passed and signed into law.
“Rep. Bourdeaux is endangering Georgia workers and families, playing politics with our lives,” said Mica Whitfield, 9to5 Georgia State Director. “Without the reconciliation package, the rich will continue to prosper while everyday Georgians struggle to meet basic necessities.”
The Budget Resolution will pave the way for Congress to provide critical support for Georgia families. Today, the high cost of housing, child care, health care, education and other basic expenses are strangling working families. Georgia households pay more than 30% of their income on rent. Child care costs for a toddler in Georgia average more than $7,000 annually. Tens of thousands of Georgians remain without health care coverage during an unprecedented pandemic.
“The Budget Resolution will be a game changer for our communities,” said Whitfield. “It will give Georgia families the supports they need to survive.”
The resolution includes provisions that would ensure that families pay no more than seven percent of their income on child care while boosting wages for child care workers. It would create a new national paid family and medical leave program. It would extend the enhanced Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. There also is relief for families struggling to send their kids to college. The Budget Resolution would provide free community college and increase Pell Grants.
Health care access is also addressed, with provisions to lower prescription drug prices and health insurance premiums for millions of Georgians who purchase coverage on their own.
“The livelihood and lives of Georgians are on the line,” said Whitfield. “Rep. Bourdeaux must support Georgia families by voting for the Budget Resolution. It’s time to stand up for the working families who elected her.”
