Burnt Orange Report

Why Is No One Raising Hell About The Bush Budget?

By Vince Leibowitz

[This post has been updated. Click on "read more" link for updates.]

On Friday, the White House released a 233-page document detailing the impact of President Bush's budget cuts.

They released the list on Friday just in time for it to get lost in the weekend news cycles. Of course, the administration didn't really want to release the details of the cuts until someone asked, via Reuters:

The White House provided the list in response to a request from House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, an Iowa Republican.

The Bush budget cut $420 million in grants, training and other assistance programs that the Homeland Security Department issues for state and local governments.

[...]

Another $146 million would be cut from job training grants to states and local governments under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Bush has long argued the need for job training programs to meet the needs of a changing economy.

The OMB said the Workforce Investment Act needs comprehensive reforms because currently "governors have too little control and flexibility, and programs do not train workers for jobs in high-growth industries.

Bush would cut $145 million in funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, a civil construction program long cited by critics as a prime source of congressional pork.

The OMB said the Corps currently has a $50 billion backlog of authorized construction work.

A $497 million cut was made in federal assistance to the nation's airports for repairing runways and other facilities. The administration also said airports could make up some of the money through passenger fees.

Also in the budget was a $39 million cut in funds for taxpayer assistance, which the White House said could be absorbed because of increased efficiency.

A number of education programs were slated to get no funding at all in 2006, including the Even Start family literacy program and the Perkins loan program that gives money to colleges and universities to make low-interest loans available to needy students.

A program to help communities hire more police officers would be abolished under the budget as would a program that provides block grants to help improve the juvenile justice system.

According to the report itself (which is actually on the OMB Website, with--not surprisingly--no link from the press area of the White House Site) notes:

Terminations of Discretionary Programs in 2006 99 programs terminated in the 2006 Budget 59 of those terminations have been proposed in previous years $8.8 billion savings over 2005 Enacted

Major Program Reductions in 2006
55 programs have major reductions in the 2006 Budget
27 of those reductions have been proposed in previous years
$6.5 billion savings over 2005 Enacted

Major Reform Proposals
16 programs have major reform proposals
$4.7 billion savings in 2006 over 2005 Enacted
$2.9 billion in costs in 2006 over 2005 Enacted

Some of the actual cuts in the proposal are just downright stupid.

For example, the program plans to eleminate the Safe and Drug Free Schools State Grants Program. Instead, the administration proposes increasing funding for the National SDFS program, claiming this will "support projects with measurable outcomes and strong accountability mechanisms to help ensure that Federal funding in the area produces positive results."

The budget also eleminates HSRA Emergency Medical Services for Children grants, which sends money to states to help improve EMS care for kids.

Evidently, though, Bush decided our children ain't healing right or something, because he slashed the program:

The 2006 Budget proposes no funding for Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)program at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The EMSC program has not demonstrated that its activities have led to improvements in the health outcomes of children and adolescents who have required emergency medical care. The objectives of this program can be achieved by States through programs funded by the much larger ($724 million in 2006) Maternal and Child Health Block Grant.

I'm sure emergency room physicians and pediatric ER nurses everywhere would disagree.

And, of course, it wouldn't be a Republican budget without trying to screw the poor out of housing. Bush slashed the HUD program Revitilization of Seriously Distressed Public Housing, claiming it had exceeded its goals and was too slow:

The 2006 Budget proposes to terminate the HOPE VI program. The

program has surpassed its primary goal to demolish 100,000 severely distressed public housing units by 2003. While the
program has achieved success in removing dangerous public housing, the 2005 PART analysis showed the program to be slow at completing construction and more costly than other programs that serve the same population. The Budget proposes to cancel 2005 funding for this program (and requests no further funding in 2006) and to redirect the dollars to more cost-effective alternatives such as Section 8 Tenant-based Rental Assistance.

I guess, since 1992 and 2005, no existing public housing structures have become "dangerous." That's nice to know. As for putting that money in Section 8, I've always thought Section 8 was a much more expensive option for housing the poor than actual public housing or subsidized apartment complexes. Guess I'm wrong again.

One cut in particular that really burns me up (no pun intended) is cuts to the Rural Fire Assistance program. I live in a rural area served by a rural VFD, as does everyone in Van Zandt County. Even the city volunteer departments are classified as such.

But, Bush says:

The 2006 Budget proposes to terminate the Rural Fire Assistance program. The program is duplicative of other fire assistance grant programs. The items and activities funded by these grants could be funded with existing Department of Homeland Security and Forest Service grant funding. Instead, the Department of the Interior will focus more of its fire preparedness resources on training and certification of local firefighters so that they are qualified to assist with fires on Federal lands.

The White House claims this program is duplicative because the Department of Homeland Security also has a similar program. If anyone in the Bush administration bothered to wander into a rural firehouse in the past decade, they wouldn't be cutting this program. Rural firefighters put their lives on the line just like paid big city firefighters do--with less equipment, old trucks, and the best training they can get/afford.

And, Bush wants to cut Community Oriented Policing (COPS) grant funding, a Clinton administration program to put 100,000 new police officers on the street, saying it's served its purpose (118,000 officers):

The 2006 Budget proposes to terminate the COPS Hiring Grant program as have previous Administration budgets. The program has accomplished its goals. The lack of demonstrated results as well as a crime rate at an historic low call into question continued funding for the program. The Budget proposes to cancel funding for this program and to redirect the dollars to other higher priority programs.

What a load! Community policing is not a high priority program for this administration? Again, come to a town or county that has benefitted from these programs, Mr. President. Furthermore, given the fact that 9/11 has happened and his administration has previously said all local police agencies share in the homeland security burden, is it really wise to cut this program? This program is a drop in the budgetary bucket.

The budget also cut a Department of Labor program, Reintegration of Youthful Offenders, which helped offenders under 35 get job training. It replaces the permanent program with a four-year program.

What is so dumb about this cut is that in the very document explaining the reason why the program is cut...

The 2006 Budget proposes to terminate earmarked funding for the Reintegration of Youthful Offenders program, and better serve this population through the President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative. Proposed in the 2004 State of the Union address and the 2005 Budget, this four-year initiative will offer a range of job training, housing, and mentoring services and harness the experience of faith-based and community organizations. The 2006 Budget includes $75 million in new funding for the President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative to address the problems faced by ex-offenders in a more effective way, through services provided by the Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice.

...it expounds on the very need for such a program:

More than 600,000 offenders are released from prisons each year and face multiple barriers upon their return to society, including inadequate job skills and housing. Approximately two-thirds of prisoners are re-arrested within three years of their release, and half return to prison during that same period.

Perhaps they wouldn't return to prison if they had adequate job skills and housing? Duh!

These are just a few of the program eleminations. I could go on for hours about the rest of the eleminations--not to mention the cuts.

I know the privitization of Social Security is taking up a lot of media attention, but I think this is deserving of some, too.

I've noticed mentions in magazines, editorials, and on blogs of late that Bush is trying to eleminate all of the good things of Roosvelt's New Deal and Johnson's Great Society.

For those of you among us who also remember the 1990s and the Clinton Administration, Clinton fought for the enaction of a number of important programs like COPS. Granted, they may not have been as groundbreaking as New Deal or Great Society programs, but they are just as important to the welfare of our country.

Essentially, the Bush administration is attempting a wholesale slaughter of major programs enacted by during three of the most domestic-policy progressive Democratic administrations in American history.

And what are we going to do about this?

Of course, we can't expect our Governor or either of our U.S. Senators to raise hell about this. They're all Bush Republicans. But, I'd think at least a few State Senators and State Reps--especially those in communities which benefitted from the very programs Bush is trying to cut--would have something to say about this. Hopefully, over the course of the next few weeks, they will.

Update: Via AP, here is a comprehensive list of budget cuts:

TERMINATED:

- Agriculture Department

AMS Biotechnology Program

Forest Service Economic Action Program

High Cost Energy Grants

NRCS Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations

Research and Extension Grant Earmarks and Low Priority Programs

- Commerce Department

Advanced Technology Program

Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program

Public Telecommunications Facilities, Planning and Construction Program

- Education Department

Comprehensive School Reform

Educational Technology State Grants

Even Start

(High School Program Terminations:)

Vocational Education State Grants

Vocational Education National Activities

Tech Prep State Grants

Upward Bound

Talent Search

GEAR UP

Smaller Learning Communities

Perkins Loans: Capital Contributions and Loan Cancellations

Regional Education Laboratories

Safe and Drug Free Schools State Grants

(Small Elementary and Secondary Education Programs:)

Javits Gifted and Talented Education

National Writing Project

School Leadership

Dropout Prevention Program

Close Up Fellowships

Ready to Teach

Parental Information and Resource Centers

Alcohol Abuse Reduction

Foundations for Learning

Mental Health Integration in Schools

Community Technology Centers

Exchanges with Historic Whaling and Trading Partners

Foreign Language Assistance

Excellence in Economic Education

Arts in Education

Women's Educational Equity

Elementary and Secondary School Counseling

Civic Education

Star Schools

(Smaller Higher Education Programs:)

Higher Education Demos for Students w/Disabilities

Underground Railroad Program

Interest Subsidy Grants

(Small Job Training and Adult Education Programs:)

Occupational and Employment Information

Tech-prep Demonstration

Literacy Programs for Prisoners

State Grants for Incarcerated Youth

(Small Postsecondary Student Financial Assistance Programs:)

LEAP

Byrd Scholarships

B.J. Stupak Olympic Scholarships

Thurgood Marshall Legal Opportunity

(Small Vocational Rehabilitation Programs:)

Vocational Rehabilitation Recreational Programs

Vocational Rehab (VR) Migrant and Seasonal Workers

Projects with Industry

Supported Employment

Teacher Quality Enhancement Program

- Energy Department

Hydropower Program

Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization

Nuclear Energy Research Initiative

Oil and Gas Programs

- Health and Human Services Department

ACF Community Service Programs

ACF Early Learning Opportunities Fund

CDC Congressional Earmarks

CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant

CDC Youth Media Campaign

Direct Service Worker Delivery Grants

HRSA Emergency Medical Services for Children

HRSA Health Facilities Construction Congressional Earmarks

HRSA Healthy Community Access Program

HRSA State Planning Grant Program

HRSA Trauma Care

HRSA Traumatic Brain Injury

HRSA Universal Newborn Hearing Screening

Real Choice Systems Change Grants

- Housing and Urban Development Department

HOPE VI

- Interior Department

BLM Jobs-in-the-Woods Program

LWCF State Recreation Grants (NPS)

National Park Service Statutory Aid

Rural Fire Assistance (BLM, NPS, FWS, BIA)

- Justice Department

Byrne Discretionary Grants

Byrne Justice Assistance Grants

COPS Hiring Grants

COPS Interoperable Communications Technology Grants

COPS Law Enforcement Technology Grants

Juvenile Accountability Block Grants

National Drug Intelligence Center

Other State/Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program Terminations

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)

- Labor Department

Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Training Program

Reintegration of Youthful Offenders

- Transportation Department

National Defense Tank Vessel Construction Program

Railroad Rehabilitation Infrastructure Financing Loan Program

- Enviromental Protection Agency

Unrequested Projects

Water Quality Cooperative Agreements

- National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Hubble Space Telescope Robotic Servicing Mission

- Other Agencies

National Veterans Business Development Corporation

Postal Service: Revenue Forgone Appropriation

SBA: Microloan Program

SBA: Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Participating Securities Program
MAJOR REDUCTIONS:

- Agriculture Department

Federal (In-House) Research

Forest Service Capital Improve and Maintenance

Forest Service Wildland Fire Management (incl. supp. and emergency funding)

Biomass Research and Development

Broadband

CCC - Bioenergy

CCC - Market Access Program

Farm Bill Programs (EQIP

Farm Bill Programs (CSP)

Farm Bill Programs (WHIP)

Farm Bill Program (Farm and Ranchland Protection)

Farm Bill Programs (Ag. Management Assistance)

IFAS

Renewable Energy

Rural Firefighter Grants

Rural Strategic Investment Program

Rural Business Investment Program

Value-added Grants

Watershed Rehabilitation

NRCS Conservation Operations

NRCS Resource Conservation and Development Program

Water and Wastewater Grants and Loans

- Commerce Department

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

- Education Department

Adult Education State Grants

State Grants for Innovation

- Energy Department

Environmental Management

- Health and Human Services Department

HRSA Children's Hospitals GME Payment Program

HRSA Health Professions

HRSA Rural Health

SAMHSA Programs of Regional and National Significance

State, Local & Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Grants

- Housing and Urban Development Department

Housing for Persons with Disabilities

Native American Housing Block Grant

Public Housing Capital Fund

- Interior Department

Bureau of Indian Affairs School Construction

National Heritage Area Grants

Payments in Lieu of Taxes

USGS, Mineral Resources Program

- Justice Department

Federal Bureau of Prisons Construction Program

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program

Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement Assistance Programs

- Labor Department

International Labor Affairs Bureau

Office of Disability Employment Policy

Workforce Investment Act Pilots and Demonstrations

- State Department

Assistance for the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union

- Transportation Department

FAA - Facilities and Equipment

FAA - Airport Improvement Program (Oblim)

FRA - Next Generation High Speed Rail

- Treasury Department

Internal Revenue Service - Taxpayer Service

- Environmental Protection Agency

Alaska Native Villages

Clean Water State Revolving Fund

- National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Aeronautics: Vehicle Systems Program

Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter

- Other Agencies

Archives: National Historical Publications & Records Commission

U.S. Institute of Peace, Construction of New Building
MAJOR REFORMS

Agriculture: Rural Telephone Bank

Commerce: Economic and Community Development Programs

Homeland Security: State and Local Homeland Security Grants

Homeland Security: Transportation Security Administration, Recover Aviation Security Screening Costs Through Fees

Labor: Job Training Reform, Consolidate Grants Program

Transportation: Amtrak

Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works): Performance Guidelines for Funding Construction Projects

U.S. Agency for International Development and Department of Agriculture: International Food Aid

Vince Leibowitz is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County.