Branding "Home Front" Funding

WORDS TO USE

Stronger language*: "Home front" funding; Investments in America;
American community investments; The stuff that runs the country

 Weaker language: Non-Defense Discretionary Programs; NDD programs

* "Home front" funding is plain spoken and instantly understandable to average people as funding for the things and people we need to run our country while invoking patriotism and our commitment to strengthening America not just abroad, but at home.

CORE MESSAGE

Home front funding: because we invest in the things we value, and we value America.

Define: Home front investments - funding for our schools, cops, bridges, and medical research - are our shared investment in America's future.

Illustrate: We invest in research so America can lead the world in innovation, in our schools so our children can get educated, and in our roads and bridges so our businesses can move their products.

Explain: Investments in America's home front strengthen and benefit us all -- they drive our global competitiveness, create opportunities for businesses, and help our families stay healthy and safe.

Expose: Washington Republicans want to cut our investments in America's home front, just to give the richest few even more special tax breaks the rest of us can't get.

Contrast: Just how much less would be good for our country? How much less research do we need to save lives, fewer firefighters to keep our homes safe, and less infrastructure to keep our economy competitive?

Bottom line: You don't invest less in the things you value, and we value America.

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ATTACKS AND RESPONSES

ATTACK: "Defense spending cuts will kill millions of jobs."
RESPONSE:

• Let's be clear why we're even dealing with these sequester cuts: Republican leaders' refusal to put the military before millionaires and end tax breaks for the richest 2%. They admit to it -- even Sen. Lindsey Graham said "my party has their fingerprints all over it."
• So let's enact smarter defense spending cuts that keep us focused on 21st century threats. With the Iraq War ending and Afghanistan drawing to a close, it's in our strategic interests to build the leaner, more agile force that our military leaders want.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The "sequestration" or automatic spending cuts were enacted by the debt deal that Congressional Republicans forced into place last summer after threatening default on the nation's debt.
• As a result of the sequestration, most programs face across-the-board cuts of $1.2 trillion starting in January -- even though these programs have already been cut by $1 trillion.
• These home front programs account for only 4% of the nation's total economic output but serve all Americans by funding national priorities like medical and scientific research; education and job training; infrastructure; public safety and law enforcement; public health; weather monitoring and environmental protection; and housing and social services.
• The sequestration's automatic funding cuts will have harsh consequences for these home front priorities --
  • Cut the Social Security Administration's resources by nearly $900 million next year alone -- creating hassles and delays for seniors and costing taxpayers $500 million in waste, fraud, and abuse that could've been prevented.
  • Cut funding for medical discoveries, eliminating nearly 3,000 research grants to universities and medical centers.
  • Kick nearly 100,000 children off Head Start.
  • Cut education by more than $4 billion -- such as $2.7 billion cut from three education programs that together serve over 30 million kids.
  • Take away job training and employment services from 1.6 million Americans and help making child care more affordable for 80,000 families.
  • Take cancer screenings away from 50,000 women and vaccinations from over 200,000 kids.
  • Cut funding for investigations and prosecutions of terrorism, drug gangs, human trafficking, and violent crime.
  • Lay off 1,200 air traffic controllers, let 600 safety and aircraft inspector positions go unfilled, and shut down nearly 250 air traffic towers.
• Instead, Republicans in Congress want to give the richest people in our country even more tax breaks -- $1 trillion more just to the richest 2% alone. 

We develop messaging by aggregating, analyzing and distilling polling, tested messaging, and expert recommendations, and monitoring the media to identify what is and isn't working. See here for some of the experts and organizations we draw on.