Very soon Congress will decide on a budget that could make painful, dangerous cuts to services for children.  While Congress calls this spending "discretionary," it's actually very mandatory for the many families still struggling from the recession.

We're talking about the important stuff: child care, early education, nutrition and more. Among the proposed cuts is a $1 billion slash to Head Start, which could take away quality care for more than 218,000 children. Other federal cuts could mean as many as 150,000 families losing child care assistance. In all, there is more than $60 billion in cuts being discussed, many of them targeting families.

Such deep cuts after such a deep recession make no sense. Family programs aren’t simply “spending,” but investments in the next generation, our future workers, caretakers and innovators. America needs these investments badly right now: one in five children lives in low-income families; nearly one in four lives at risk of hunger; and one in three is overweight or obese.

Earlier this month President Obama outlined a budget that does much better by children and families. Obama’s proposed budget would address the national debt while making important investments in our children, notably in education. Although it’s Congress that ultimately decides the budget, Obama’s proposal should be our starting point.

During the debates we should keep in mind that budgets are priorities. Although the federal budget involves all kinds of arcane, convoluted ideas, what it ultimately reflects is our priorities as a nation. Now is a great time to contact your members of Congress and let them know yours. Tell them that when family budgets are tight, the children come first – government budgets should be no different.

To learn more about how the budget affects children and to send a message to your member of Congress, check out our “America’s Kids, America’s Future” campaign online.

Bill Bentley leads Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. With more than 60 members nationwide, Voices advocates for effective public policies to improve the lives of all children throughout the United States.