Ruppersberger Delivers Meals on Wheels to Local Seniors, Fights Proposed Cuts to Domestic Programs
Press Release
Today, Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) delivered Meals on Wheels to Second District seniors to highlight proposed cuts to domestic federal programs that benefit Marylanders. Congressman Ruppersberger helped load vehicles and met volunteers before departing on a 6-mile delivery route with stops at the homes of four Rosedale homeowners.
He made his first delivery to Carol Bath-Stehle, who was rescued by a Meals on Wheels volunteer who was the first to arrive at her home more than 12 hours after she broke her hip in a fall in January."Meals on Wheels doesn't just provide healthy meals to homebound seniors - its volunteers provide daily friendly visits and safety checks that can prove critical, like we saw with Carol," Congressman Ruppersberger said. "These services enable seniors to live nourished lives with dignity."
Meals on Wheels, which is supported by federal funding under the Older Americans Act, serves more than 38,000 Maryland seniors. Congressman Ruppersberger is fighting a proposal in President Trump's budget to eliminate the Community Development Block Grant program -- a $3 billion program started in the Ford Administration that is used by many states and cities to fund Meals on Wheels. The President's budget also calls for an 18 percent across-the-board cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is home to the agency that provides most of Meals on Wheels' federal funding. That cut could cost Meals on Wheels in Central Maryland as much as $1 million annually.
As the senior population grows, Meals on Wheels is a sound financial investment in our country's future, saving billions in tax dollars by keeping seniors independent and at home longer, rather than in more expensive nursing homes and hospitals. In fact, Meals on Wheels can provide a senior food for an entire year for roughly the same cost as one single day in the hospital."Our President wants to increase military spending, but at the expense of domestic programs that provide vital community services like Meals on Wheels," Congressman Ruppersberger said. Today, we are reminding the Administration that military spending alone won't make Americans secure."
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