News Release
Congressman Bob Etheridge
North Carolina

February 7, 2005

                                       Contact: Sara Lang
                                       Phone: (202) 225-4531

Bush Budget Taxes N.C. Farm Families

Farmers, Children, First Responders, Fiscal Responsibility Left Behind

WASHINGTON - Today U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) raised red flags about President Bush's budget for fiscal year 2006 because of its cuts to agriculture programs and a new 5 percent tax on North Carolina farm families who receive government payments. The President's budget cuts $5.7 billion in assistance to farm families, including a 5 percent across the board cut on all farm assistance. The President's budget also imposes new, lower limits on the payments that farm families can receive and reduces the assistance farmers receive to pay for crop insurance premiums. Etheridge said these cuts break the promise of the Farm Bill and endanger farm families who are struggling to stay afloat.

"This President's budget leaves North Carolina's farm families out to pasture," Etheridge said. "The Farm Bill is a solid promise between the government and the nation's farm families to provide them with some security. This budget wipes out that security and puts many of our farmers on dangerous footing."

More than 100 organizations have already written to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to protest the proposed cuts to agriculture funding. The president's budget also freezes funding for rural education, phases out rural health grants and slashes rural development programs.

Education

The President continues to underfund No Child Left Behind, failing to provide billions of dollars promised to states and local school districts. The budget provides only half of the funding promised for after school programs and cuts vocational education by $1.2 billion. It also cuts $440 million in Safe and Drug-Free School grants, $500 million in education technology state grants, $225 million for the Even Start literacy program and $280 million for the Upward Bound initiative for inner city youths.

"As the only former state schools chief in Congress, I am deeply troubled by the President's education cuts. He followed up a measly paragraph in the State of the Union with continued cuts to our children's education. One out of every three items eliminated in the President's budget is in education."


Homeland Security

The President's budget cuts funding for the COPS program, which has put 392 additional law enforcement officers and 23 school resource officers in the 2nd District, by 80 percent. The budget also slashes grants to local firefighters by more than $215 million. Fire departments in the 2nd District have received more than $2 million in grants for equipment, training and other programs through these grants.

"Our first responders are on the front lines every single day protecting our communities and our families. We absolutely can not have homeland security without hometown security. As we require our firefighters, police officers and all first responders to do more than ever, we must ensure that they have the resources to get the job done."

Fiscal Responsibility

Despite entering office with record budget surpluses, this Administration has now created record deficits. The President's budget eliminates more than 150 programs under the guise of cutting the nation's deficit. However, funding for the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not included in the President's budget. The President has signaled that he will seek an additional $80 billion for those operations in the coming weeks. In addition, there is no allowance for the President's top domestic agenda - privatizing Social Security - that is projected to cost $2 to $3 trillion.

Analysis of the President's budget shows that all the President's cuts would likely total less than $15 billion next year, barely impacting the deficit. Budget analysts at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, estimated that the deficits would remain around $400 billion through 2009.

"We must return to the values of balanced budgets and get rid of the fuzzy math. No family in North Carolina could balance their household budget this way, and the federal government has a moral obligation to produce a fair and just budget. This administration has a responsibility to provide an accurate budget and honest information to the American taxpayers."

   
   
   
   

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