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Harkin Disappointed with Misplaced Priorities in Bush
Budget
Budget
Calls for Deep Cuts in Education, Health Care, Seniors and Agriculture
in Exchange for Tax Cuts for the Wealthy.
The President's Budget reminds us that there is no such thing as a
free
lunch. Just last week, the Senate passed another $70 billion
in
tax breaks, largely for the wealthy. And today, the bill came
due, to be paid by seniors on fixed incomes, the working poor, people
with disabilities, and public school children.
The President's budget slashes resources for exactly the
priorities
we should be supporting: groundbreaking medical research, health care
for our seniors, and education for our kids.
A budget is a moral document, and the President's budget
flunks the
most basic moral test. It calls for literally hundreds of
billions in additional tax cuts, with the lion's share going to those
making more than $1 million a year. And it calls for deep
cuts to
programs that our most vulnerable citizens depend on for their very
survival.
This year, the President's budget included cuts in:
MEDICARE SLASHED BY $36 BILLION:
These deep cuts will compromise hospital care, home health care, lab
tests, and other Medicare services for Iowa seniors and people with
disabilities. Iowa's Medicare providers already rank at the
bottom for Medicare reimbursement and the Bush budget will make the
problem even worse.
EDUCATION FACES DEEPEST CUTS IN 26 YEARS:
The President's Budget calls for a $2.1 billion cut to
education, the
largest in history. The President substantially
under funds
the No Child Left Behind Act, leaving behind 3.7 million students who
could be fully served by Title I if the program were funded at the
level he promised. It shortchanges students with disabilities
by
providing a smaller share of states total costs for special
education
for the second year in a row. In addition, the President
eliminates all vocational education programs.
CORD
BLOOD STEM CELL BANK ELIMINATED:
The President's Budget eliminates all funding for the Cord Blood Stem
Cell Bank, an initiative that the President and the Republican
leadership themselves touted in December. Harkin has secured
funding for the Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank through the Labor HHS
Appropriations subcommittee for several years.
CUTS
TO 18 OF THE 19 INSTITUTES AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF
HEALTH (NIH):
The President's budget would cut funding for 18 of the 19 institutes
at
NIH. Funds for the National Cancer Institute would drop by
$40
million, and funds for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
would drop by $21 million.
CUTS
TO INITIATIVES THAT SERVE THE MOST VULNERABLE:
The President's budget eliminates already inadequate funding for the
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and slashes resources for the
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) by $500 million. These
initiatives provide critical aid to states to ensure the availability
of services for low-income children and families, the disabled and
elderly.
DEEP
CUTS TO IOWA LAW ENFORCEMENT:
Once again the President eliminated critical funding for local law
enforcement, slashing the Office of Justice Programs budget by more
than $1 billion. After sustaining massive cuts in each of the
last three years-- including a 42 percent cut in Iowa last year-- the
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant and the COPS programs are eliminated.
The budget also once again targets the High Intensity Drug Program,
redirecting funding away from the Midwest to the Border
States.
This program pays for highway interdiction of drug trafficking in Iowa
as well as federal drug prosecutors.
SHORTCHANGING IOWA'S RURAL
COMMUNITIES:
The Bush budget calls for deep cuts to farm bill initiatives the
President has touted and fails to follow through on his State of the
Union call to invest in renewable fuels. The Budget would
drain
federal spending from rural America by scaling back investment in farm
income by 5 percent with additional cuts in conservation, renewable
energy, broadband loans and agricultural research. This comes at the
same time that farm income declined by 16 percent adjusted for
inflation last year and farmers are confronting continued skyrocketing
fuel and fertilizer costs.
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10/26/2006
HARKIN: BUSH’S BOTCHED POLICIES AND MISPLACED PRIORITIES FAIL IOWANS
4/13/2006
KEEPING FAITH WITH SAMANTHA
3/16/2006
HARKIN PRAISES BIPARTISAN SENATE ACTION TO RESTORE HEALTH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES
More Budget News...
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