Few Nice Words on Debt Deal from Policy Community and Plenty of Disagreements on Way Forward

This week, Congress managed to reach an agreement andpass the Budget Control Act, which raised the debt ceiling and avoided apotentially catastrophic financial default for our nation. Organizations whoaddress poverty from across the political spectrum managed to agree onsomething else this deal is all wrong.

The Centerfor American Progress minces no words the deal goes “straight in thewrong direction.” TheHeritage Foundation echoes this sentiment, saying it “does not make thetransformative changes this nation requires,” and is about “the needs ofpoliticians instead of the needs of the country.” TheCenter for Economic and Policy Research agrees that there has been a”crusade to ignore public opinion.”

Unsurprisingly, the similarities end there. Organizationssuch as the Center for American Progress, Center for Economic and PolicyResearch, Coalition on HumanNeeds and the NationalWomen۪s Law Center criticize the plan for not focusing on job creation and revenueenhancements.  On the other side, theHeritage Foundation, Cato, and the AmericanEnterprise Institute have complaints about large cuts to the defensebudget.

OOTS readers can stay up-to-date on news andinformation about the debt debate and what it means for low-income Americans,by visiting Spotlight۪s new resource page on thebudget deal.

Congress may have struck a deal this week, but thedebate is far from over.

Posted by Lena

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Hereat Out of the Spotlight, we offer a behind-the-scenes look at the latest newsand information essential to anyone working to fight poverty. From keypolitical appointees to clashes over policy, we cover the news that doesn’talways make the evening news. Check out Outof the Spotlight forour take on the twists and turns of the latest political developments and theirimpact on poverty reduction. Topics and ideas are welcome! Just contact mlaracy@aecf.org or watersboots@hotmail.com