When 57 of the biggest, most recognizable children’s organizations in the country say the President’s proposed budget is going to harm America’s kids, it would be a good idea to pay attention.

According to the Children’s Budget Coalition (CBC)—which includes dozens of children’s groups across the country—the biggest losers in Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget are America’s children.

With $54 billion in cuts to non-defense discretionary programs (NDD), it would devastate programs that impact children’s development and well-being, particularly in the areas of health, education, nutrition, housing and welfare.

“Our children deserve better,” said John Monsif, VP of Government Relations at the First Focus Campaign for Children, a founding member of the CBC.

“Congress must prevent this this misguided proposal by lifting the budget caps on NDD appropriations and fully investing in kids. Otherwise, the slashing of funding for children’s programs will have real consequences for real people. Our children will be hungrier, sicker, and crammed into more overcrowded classrooms because of these budget cuts.”

The coalition’s three main goals are: to get the budget caps for NDD spending lifted; to maintain parity between non-defense and defense discretionary spending; and to increase allocations for programs that benefit kids in a variety of appropriations bills.

All of this is taking place against the backdrop of two worrying trends. As the First Focus 2016 Children’s Budget Book found, children’s programs accounted for a mere 2.1 percent of all new total federal spending over the previous five years, despite overall spending increasing by 7.7 percent. It also found that the share of total federal spending on children decreased 5.1 percent between 2014 and 2016.

We cannot continue down this divestment path – our children are America’s future. Now is the time for lawmakers who talk a good game about kids to step up to the plate and act to protect them and help them thrive.