”Challenging U.S. Human Rights Violations Since 9/11”
E. The Government'S Duty To Properly Fund The General Welfare
In the Spring of 2004, the San Francisco Bay Area Progressive Challenge prepared the “Sensible Federal Budget Resolution” for adoption by the California state assembly. The Resolution calls on Congress and the President “to enact a budget that redirects sufficient amounts of money from the military budget to the states,” to allow for increased funding of social programs that provide “a decent level of healthcare and safety for all our citizens.” Many organizations have prepared similar resolutions in cities and states all across the country.
Bush’s budget proposal for 2005 provided $401.7 billion for the Department of Defense’s base budget, an annual increase of seven percent, for a total increase in defense spending of 35 percent since 2001.
2005 Discretionary Budget Authority sought by Bush for Departments:
- Defense $401.7 billion
- Health/Hum.Svc. 66.8 billion
- Transportation 57.4 billion
- Education 57.3 billion
- Homeland Sec. 33.8 billion
- Social. Security 9.1 billion
- EPA 7.8 billion
(“Budget for the Executive Office of the President,” Office of Management and Budget, Aug. 16, 2004.)
President Bush’s Department of Defense budget proposal for fiscal year 2005 is $25.3 billion more than all of the other 16 departments of the Government combined.
- 25. Health And Human Services
- 26. Education For All
- 27. Environmental Protection
- 28. Federal Judicial Branch
25. Health And Human Services
In November 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar, concluded an agreement among all 144 member states, except only the U.S., to help poor nations buy medicines to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc., by relaxing patent laws that kept drug prices out of reach. In December 2002, the U.S. single-handedly destroyed the agreement by insisting that strong international patent protection be left in place, following intense lobbying from U.S. pharmaceutical companies. (Richard Du Boff, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Biggest Rogue of All?” Z Magazine, September 2003.)
In July, 2002, the U.S. cut off its $34 million annual contribution to the UN family-planning program and in November 2002, withdrew its support of the Cairo Action Plan of 1994. The Plan promotes “reproductive health services and health care” to help cut population growth in developing countries, including abortion.
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) said the Administration was draining the Governments ability to pay for Social Security and Medicare when 77 million baby boomers are approaching retirement, and it is saddling future generations with repayment of a national debt that could rise to $7 trillion by 2013. (AP, “CBO: Government Faces Years of More Deficits,” Kansas City Star, Aug. 26, 2003.)
Administration Budget Cuts Sent More Single Mothers Into Poverty
(Bernadette D. Proctor and Joseph Dalakar, "Poverty in the United States: 2002," U.S. Census Bureau, September 2003, accessed August 13, 2004; "Welfare: NOW Calls for Real Reform," National Organization for Women, September 30, 2003, accessed July 14, 2004.)
Administration Urged Budget Cuts for Cancer Care
("Most Americans Unaware of Cancer Cuts in Pending Medicare Bills, National Poll Shows," U.S. Newswire, September 25, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; Associated Press, "Bush Urges Passage of Medicare Drug Bill," Wichita Eagle, September 25, 2003, accessed June 18, 2004)
Administration Proposed Shrinking Veterans' Benefits
(Dale Eisman, "Vet's Drugs Bills May Soar," El Paso Times, January 2, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; Jim Abrams, "GOP Joins Dems, Vets Against Benefit Cuts," Disabled American Veterans, September 15, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; James Boyne, "Bush Honors Veterans By Slashing Veterans Affairs Budget by $1 Billion," Irregular Times, June 1, 2004, accessed August 13, 2004.)
Administration Budgeted for Expanding War Powers, Not U.S. Needs
(Christopher Hellmen, "FY04 Budget Request, Center for Defense Information, no date, accessed June 18, 2004; Peronet Despeignes, "Bush's Priorities Under Scrutiny," USA Today, September 18, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004.)
National Budget Crisis Cut City Services
(Richmond Resident, "Richmond Budget Bodes Ill for Future," IndyMedia.org, April 6, 2004, accessed July 12, 2004; Kelly St. John, "Richmond Council delivers budget body blow," San Francisco Chronicle, April 2, 2004, accessed July 12, 2004; Rebecca Rosen Lum, "Union To Sue Richmond Over Layoffs," Contra Costa Times, April 2, 2004, p. A1.)
Bush Plan Endangers Social Security
("Bush Social Security Investment Accounts Mean Higher Taxes, Higher Retirement Age, Benefit Cuts," Senior Journal.com, January 15, 2003, accessed July 1, 2004.) Richard Stevenson, "Report Predicts Deep Benefit Cuts Under Bush Social Security Plan," Common Dreams, June 19, 2002, accessed July 2, 2004.)
Administration Failed To Face Rising Mental Health Problems
("America's Mental Health Still Ignored in Terrorism Response," National Mental Health Association, September 8, 2003, accessed July 30, 2004; Christine Lehman, "Parity Advocates Pick Up Crucial Ally As Bush Calls for Legislation This Year," Psychiatric News, May 17, 2002, accessed July 30, 2004; "Mental Health Parity Timeline," National Mental Health Association, April 29, 2004, accessed July 30, 2004; Charles W. Hoge, MD, et al., "Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care," New England Journal of Medicine, July 1, 2004, accessed August 5, 2004; "ICRC Report on the Treatment by the Coalition Forces of POWs and other Protected Persons," International Committee of the Red Cross, February, 2004, accessed July 30, 2004; Sasha Abramsky, and Jamie Fellner, "Ill-Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness," Human Rights Watch Report, September 2003, accessed July 30, 2004; "Bush Plans to Screen Whole US Population for Mental Illness." Jeanne Lenzer, British Medical Journal, June 19, 2004; accessed August 5, 2004; Law Project for Psychiatric Rights accessed August 5, 2004; MindFreedom Support Coalition International accessed August 5, 2004.)
26. Education For All
One purpose of the U.S. Constitution, found in the Preamble, is to “promote the general Welfare.” In 1979, Congress echoed these words in its passage of the United States Department of Education Organization Act, to establish a Department of Education so as to “promote the general welfare of the United States, [to] help ensure that education issues receive proper treatment at the Federal level, and [to] enable the Federal Government to coordinate its education activities more effectively.”
The right to education includes the right to attend high-quality public schools (K-12), including in low-income neighborhoods, community colleges, efficient facilities for training and rehabilitation of first offenders and parolees, and workable schools for disabled students.
Budget Cut 475,000 Kids Out of After School Programs
("Low Income Children in the United States," National Center for Children in Poverty, 2004, accessed July 12, 2004; Jesse Jackson, "In Rush to Rebuild Iraq, Bush Leaves Poor Children Behind," Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 30, 2003, p. 33; "Bush Signs $368B Defense Bill," USA Today, October 1, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004.)
Funding Cut for Ghetto Schools, Community Colleges
(Committee on Education and the Workforce, "FY2004 Bush Budget Shortchanging Education Reform," U.S. House Representatives, Feb. 3, 2003, accessed June 10, 2004; "FY 2004 ED Budget summary: Programs Proposed for Elimination," U.S. Department of Education, February 3, 2003, accessed July 12, 2004; "Quick Facts 2003-2004," West Contra Costa Unified School District, no date, accessed July 12, 2004; Julio Magana-Saludado, "Governor Reverses Position; Agrees to Meet with Fasters" August 11, 2004, accessed July 8, 2004; Ana Facio Contreras, "Officials seek aid for school district" Contra Costa Times, March 17, 2004, accessed August 11, 2004.)
Funding Cut for Training, Rehabilitation, and Special Education
("FY 2004 ED Budget summary: Programs Proposed for Elimination," U.S. Dept. of Education, February 3, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; "Bush Administration: Ship More U.S. Jobs Overseas," AFL-CIO, February 11, 2004, accessed July 29, 2004.)
D.C. Schools Run by the Federal Government
("Recent Legislative History of Vouchers," National Education Association, 2004, accessed July 29, 2004; Press Release, "Competition Open to Select Organization to Run First Federally Funded Opportunity Scholarship Program," U.S. Department of Education, February 4, 2004, accessed July 29, 2004; "Protecting Quality Public Education -- The Issue: D.C. Vouchers," People For the American Way, March 10, 2004, accessed July 29, 2004.)
Bush Administration Promotes Religious Education and School Vouchers
("Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Summary," U.S. Department of Education, February 3, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004.) ("No Child Left Behind," U.S. Department of Education, 2002, accessed July 29, 2004; Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 122 S. Ct. 2460 (2002); Press Release, "President Bush's 2004 Budget will Include an Estimated $756 Million to Expand Options for Parents, Paige Says," U.S. Department of Education, January 31, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, "FY 2004 Shortchanging Education Reform," U.S. House of Representatives, February 3, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; Committee on Education and the Workforce, "Bush Administration Cuts Public School Funding to Pay for New Private School Voucher Scheme," U.S. House of Representatives, February 3, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004.)
Bush Jeopardizes Programs against Gender Discrimination in Schools
("Legislative Update Special Report: Bush Commission Weakens Title IX in Sports," NOW.org, February 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; Catherine Donaldson-Evans, "Bush Gender Policies Criticized as 'Anti-Women'", Fox News, March 4, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004; "Fiscal Year 2004 ED Budget Summary: Programs Proposed for Elimination," U.S. Dept. of Education, February 3, 2003, accessed July 29, 2004.)
27. Environmental Protection
9/11 in one morning created an environmental disaster for many years to come, and human disasters without end. 9/11 changed many Government policies. It did not change the policies of the Bush Administration concerning environmental protection.
In February 2004, twenty Nobel laureates, 19 recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 20 other prominent scientists, issued a statement.
They detailed examples of the Administration’s relentless abuse of science: censoring Government studies, gagging agency scientists, refusing to confer with or ignoring independent experts, misinterpreting information to fit its predetermined policy objectives, appointing unqualified and industry-connected individuals to federal advisory committees, and disbanding those government panels for offering unwanted information. (“Scientists Accuse White House of Distorting Science for Political Gains,” National Resources Defense Council, February 18, 2004; Bruce Barcott, “Changing All the Rules,” New York Times Magazine, April 4, 2004.)
In the face of all of these challenges, Julia Butterfly Hill and others have taken to the trees. Concerned environmentalists are increasingly joining forces with concerned immigrants’ rights advocates to preserve natural resources, including human beings.
All the numerous paths for action require a little training in how to be an effective lobbyist for preservation of all natural resources, and how to help the media give coverage of events as they are happening, so that catastrophes can be averted.
Bush Charged with Replacing Government Science with Corporate Science
(Zarbock, Janicki, Wade, Heimbuch and Wilson, "Estimates of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids loadings to Tampa Bay, Florida," Tampa Bay National Estuary Program, Technical Publication #04-94, 1994, p. 3-7, 3-8; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., "The Junk Science of George W. Bush," The Nation, March 8, 2004, accessed July 21, 2004.)
U.S. Department of Energy Weakens Standards for Nuclear Waste Storage
("DOE weakens standards for Yucca nuclear storage," Natural Resource Defense Council, December 14, 2001, accessed July 26, 2004; "Bush cleanup plan could leave behind more nuclear waste," Natural Resources Defense Council, July 19, 2002, accessed July 26, 2004; Nuclear Energy Institute, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, 373 F. 3d 1251[2004].)
Bush Administration Cut Clean Air Act Protections; EPA Leader Resigned
(Christine Kraly, "Study: EPA Knowingly Underreports Toxic Air Emissions from Refineries" Galveston Houston-Association for Smog Prevention, June 22, 2004, accessed July 21, 2004; Bruce Barcott, "Changing All the Rules," New York Times Magazine, April 4, 2004, accessed August 5, 2004; "EPA and Justice Department file Government's briefs in lawsuits challenging the Agency's December 2002 rule revising regulatory requirements for New Source Review," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Last updated August 10, 2004, accessed August 13, 2004.)
Bush Administration Ignored Global Warming and the Kyoto Protocol
("Bush Administration Finally Admits Big Trouble from Global Warming," National Resource Defense Council, June 3, 2002, accessed June 30, 2004; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change webpage, accessed July 1, 2004; "EPA Omits Global Warming Section from Pollution Report," National Resources Defense Council, September 15, 2002, accessed June 30, 2004; "Bush Administration Fosters Policy Of Delay On Global Warming," National Resources Defense Council, December 4, 2002, accessed June 30, 2004; "White House Whitewashes EPA Environment Report," National Resources Defense Council, June 23, 2003, accessed June 30, 2004; "White House Plays Down Global Warming Evidence," National Resources Defense Council, September 21, 2003, accessed June 30, 2004; "Secret Pentagon Report Details Global Warming Threat," National Resources Defense Council, February 22, 2004, accessed June 30, 2004.)
U.S. Inaction on Global Warming Threatens Inuit Cultural Extinction
(Paul Brown, "Global Warming Is Killing Us Too, Say Inuit," The Guardian, December 11, 2003, accessed June 28, 2004; "A Guide to the Climate Change Process: The Kyoto Protocol," United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, accessed August 6, 2004.)
U.S. Military Ignores Environmental/Cultural Standards in Hawaii
(William Cole, "Hawaii's Stryker brigade approved," Honolulu Advertiser, July 7, 2004, accessed July 9, 2004; Jim Albertini, "Stryker Protest," Malu 'Aina Center for Non-Violent Education & Action, July 7, 2004, accessed July 9, 2004; "Community Impact Statement on the Stryker Brigade Combat Team," DMZ Hawaii Aloha Aina, July 6, 2004, accessed July 9, 2004.)
U.S. Further Endangers Endangered Species
(Letter from Jane Goodall and 358 other scientists to Chris Nolan, Chief of the Division of Conservation and Classification of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, March 4, 2004; GreenWatch Today, "A Broken Promise; Species Near Extinction," Bush Green Watch, February 6, 2004, accessed August 17, 2004.)
U.S. Farm Subsidies Are Starving the World
(Fact Webpage, "Agricultural Trade," World Trade Organization, 2003, AgriculturalTrade accessed July 22, 2004; Farah Khan, "Chop Agricultural Subsidies, Say World Bank and NGOs," Inter Press Service, August 27, 2002, accessed July 21, 2004; E. C. Pasour Jr., "Ending Farm Subsidies Wouldn't Help the Third World? It Just Ain't So!," The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, April 2004, accessed July 21, 2004; Fact Webpage, "Subsidies, food imports and tariffs key issues for developing countries," Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, September 2003, accessed July 22, 2004; Ellen Kaiser, "War Watch: U.S. Farm Subsidies Starve the World," War Times, Oct-Nov. 2003, accessed July 21, 2004; World Bank Press, "Aid Irrelevant Unless Rich Countries Cut Subsidies," World, October 11, 2002, accessed July 21, 2004; Patrick Baert, "WTO Proposes Elimination of Farm Subsidies," Agence France Presse, July 17, 2004, accessed July 21, 2004.)
Bush Administration Allows Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Unabated
("EPA Factory-Farm Rule Favors Polluters," National Resources Defense Council, December 15, 2002, accessed June 30, 2004; "Pollution from Giant Livestock Farms Threatens Public Health: Waste lagoons and manure spray-fields -- two widespread and environmentally hazardous technologies -- are poorly regulated," National Resources Defense Council, July 24, 2001, accessed June 30, 2004; "EPA Secretly Considering Amnesty for Livestock Farm Polluters," National Resources Defense Council, May 05, 2003, accessed June 30, 2004.)
28. Federal Judicial Branch
After 9/11, the actions of the Bush Administration did not indicate that there are three equally important branches of the federal government: legislative, judicial, and executive. The money being spent by the DOD on Afghanistan and Iraq cut an enormous hole in the federal budget, as Bush loudly opposed any increase in corporate or high-income taxes.
One problem with the budget for the judiciary is that judges are not in charge of how many cases are filed in the federal courts. That depends on how many are arrested for committing federal crimes, how many ask for jury trials, and how many civil lawsuits corporations and human beings decide to file. So the Bush cuts in all branches actually cut the judiciary very seriously.
The judiciary’s portion of the federal budget is just .2 percent (2/10 of 1 percent). The cuts do not take into account increases in “fixed” costs, or increasing need for public defenders and legal service lawyers for litigants without money for lawyers in suits against gouging landlords and unscrupulous employers.
Federal Budget Creates Crisis in the Judiciary
(Nina Totenberg, "Morning Edition: Federal Courts Face Budgetary Crisis," National Public Radio, August 12, 2004, accessed August 12, 2004.)