The Budget Rebuilds the Economy and Opportunities for the African American Community
The Budget serves as a long-term economic plan to promote economic growth for all Americans. After inheriting this recession from the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans, this Congress has already taken steps to create or save more than 3.5 million jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Congress is also making strategic long-term investments in health care reform, education, and services to veterans to rebuild our economy while cutting the budget deficit by nearly two-thirds in 4 years to put us back on a path to sustainability.
HEALTH CARE
The Economic Plan Addresses the Disproportionate Lack of Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care for African Americans. In 2007, nearly 20 percent of all African Americans were uninsured compared to 16.7 percent for the U.S. population. 1 This means 7.4 million African Americans nationwide lacked health care coverage in 2007.2 More than 14 percent of African American children in 2007 were still living day-to-day without any health coverage.3
The Economic Plan Includes A Reserve Fund to Expand Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care by:
- Streamlining the health care delivery system to reduce health care costs for businesses and families.
- Making investments to improve the quality of health care.
- Putting us on a path to provide health care coverage for all Americans.
EDUCATION
The Economic Plan Improves Higher Educational Opportunities for African Americans. The average cost of tuition, room and board for four year universities (public and private) grew by 38 percent (from $13,942 to $19,232) from 2002 to 2007.4 Only 11 percent of African Americans (25 and older) have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 17 percent of all Americans in 2007.5 Since African Americans have the lowest median household income compared to other ethnic
groups, the rising cost of higher education disproportionately affects their community.6
The Economic Plan Together with the Recovery Act Make Investments in Education That:
- Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit of up to $2,500 for eligible college students to cover school costs.
- Increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010 to alleviate rising tuition costs for college students.
VETERANS
The Economic Plan Provides Needed Support to African American Veterans. Over two million African Americans are veterans and they comprise the largest minority group of former service members.7
The Economic Plan Helps Veterans By:
- Increasing funding for veterans programs by $5.6 billion (11.7%) in 2010 and by $27 billion over 5 years.
- Allowing Congress to provide funding for VA medical care a year in advance.
- Providing more funding than in 2009 for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for the research and treatment of mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury.
1 U.S. Census Bureau: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007. August, 2008.
2 U.S. Census Bureau: 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimate, Black or African American Alone or in combination with one or more other races.
3 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Report: Covering Kids & Families: The State of Kids’ Coverage. August, 2006.
4 National Center for Educational Statistics, Table 320: Average undergraduate tuition and fees and room and board rates. 2008
5 U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimate, Black or African American Alone or in combination with one or more other races.
6 U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007. August, 2008.
7 U.S. Census Bureau, Veterans by Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2006.