New Report Shows Kids Getting One Penny of Every New Federal Dollar Spent

First Focus publication reveals woeful five year trend of expenditures on
children

WASHINGTON, April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over the past five years only
one penny of every new, real non-defense dollar spent by the federal
government goes to children, a new publication by First Focus, a bipartisan
children's advocacy organization revealed today.

The book, entitled Children's Budget 2008, is an analysis of the over 180
federally funded programs that are aimed at enhancing the well-being of our
nation's children, and how their appropriations levels have changed over the
past five years. After adjusting for inflation, Children's Budget 2008 finds
that just one percent of all new spending since fiscal year 2004 is helping
American kids.

"We embarked on this project to identify the standing of our children in the
federal budget, and were shocked by the results," said Bruce Lesley, President
of First Focus. "Despite increases in federal spending over the past five
years, the share for children has dropped dramatically. Virtually every
program that benefits kids depends on a core federal investment that has
diminished in recent years."

The key findings of the report include:

-- For the past five years, only one penny of every new, non-defense
dollar
spent by the federal government has gone to children and children's
programs.
-- Children's spending now makes up only ten percent of the entire
non-defense budget.
-- The overall share of federal, non-defense spending going to
children's programs has dropped by 10 percent over the past five
years.
-- Real discretionary spending on children has declined by more than 6
percent since 2004, while at the same time all other non-defense
discretionary spending has increased by more than 8 percent.

The report also shows that over the past five years, spending on children's
education has been stagnant, resulting in a real decrease in the value of
education funding. Nearly 70 education programs have suffered real cuts in
funding over the past five years, leading to a 10 percent funding decrease, in
real terms.

"One penny out of every new dollar is not sufficient for our nation's
children," Lesley added. "As the 2008 elections approach, voters should hold
politicians accountable by ensuring that the percentage of expenditures on
kids does not continue plunging downward. If this trend is not reversed, a
continued budget squeeze on children's programs will spell disaster for kids
in the long term. It's time to invest in our nation's future and to once
again make children a national priority."

The online version can be found at http://www.firstfocus.net/pages/3391/. To
request a hard copy, please email katiep@firstfocus.net.

SOURCE First Focus

Christopher Spina of First Focus, +1-202-657-0677, +1-202-674-2450 (mobile)