Unkind cuts: There has been a lot of discussion in the media about the budget battles over the 2007 federal budget and the ballooning supplemental spending bill that Herr Bush has threatened to veto. But there has been virtually no coverage of what Bush says he wants to cut out of the federal budget.
The Office of Management and Budget has just released its report on the spending reductions Bushco wants — surprise! — they are mostly in education and health and human services areas. The total is nearly $7.3 billion, almost half of it in education spending cuts.
Here are some of the program terminations I consider to be most egregious.
From the Department of Agriculture Bush wants to cut $511 million, including $75 million from watershed protection and flood prevention, and $10 million from the beleaguered Forest Service.
From Education, the “Education President” wants to cut 42 programs for a total of $3.5 billion. High school vocational training will see elimination of $1.15 billion in programs. Other education programs getting the axe include Arts in Education, Civics Education, National Writing Project, School Dropout Prevention and Vocational Rehabilitation for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers. You can bet some children are getting left behind.
Remember, these are eliminations, not budget cuts — gone, daddy, gone.
From the Energy Department Bush is slicing $114 million in programs. Those include the University Nuclear Energy and the Geothermal Technology programs. Given our current gasoline “crisis,” does it make sense to also cut the $64 million Oil and Gas Research and Development program? It does to somebody, ‘cause it’s history.
Bush wants to whack $866 million off of Health and Human Services programs — you know, the ones intended to help folks. They include the CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, community services programs, Jobs for Low-Income Individuals, Maternal and Child Health Categorical Grants, and Urban Indian Health programs.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is losing the entire $198 million HOPE VI program. HOPE VI was described as serving a “vital role” in HUD’s efforts to transform public housing by changing the physical shape of public housing, establishing incentives for resident self-sufficiency and empowering residents, lessening concentrations of poverty by placing public housing in non-poverty neighborhoods and promoting mixed-income communities, and forging partnerships with other agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses. So much for hope.
The Interior Department is losing $61 million in programs, including some funding for the National Park Service, which can’t afford to lose a dime.
There’s $180 million coming out of the Labor Department, including America’s Job Banks and a training program for migrant and seasonal workers (you know, working illegal immigrants).
The Environmental Protection Agency is losing $277 million in unnamed programs.
Other programs getting chopped include the National Civilian Community Corps, National Veterans Business Development Corporation and the Small Business Administration Microloan Program.
Let’s review: The Bush administration is proposing to cut a whole slew of programs that help poor people, minorities and small business in order to save a measly $7.3 billion from a trillion-dollar federal budget. At the same time, Bush wants to make permanent tax cuts for the wealthy that will total $197 billion in lost federal tax revenues over the next 13 years.
Do the math — if he didn’t give the tax cuts, Bush would be generating $15.2 billion per year during the next 13 years in tax revenue. Hmmm, looks like instead of cutting those programs, we could double the appropriations for each and every one and still have a little left over.
But that could only happen in a different America, under a different regime. For now, those programs are history. Sorry poor people, minorities and small biz owners. Better luck in ’08!
