Hoyer: President's 2007 Budget Fails to Fully Meet the Needs of Maryland Families

Hoyer: President's 2007 Budget Fails to Fully Meet the Needs of Maryland Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, February 06, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC - In response to President Bush's FY 2007 budget proposal, Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) praised the inclusion of some important local projects, but expressed disappointment at the budget's failure to fully address the needs of Maryland's families.

"I am pleased that the President's budget includes $178.5 million for the consolidation of FDA facilities at the Federal Research Center at White Oak," Hoyer said. "This is the highest request in the 8-year history of the project."

Hoyer has been a champion of completing a major overhaul of the FDA campus. As the only Member from Maryland on the House Appropriations Committee, he has helped to secure over $442 million in federal funds for this important effort.

Hoyer said he is pleased that the President requested a 3.2% increase for NASA, including funding for a servicing mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. "Experts agree that Hubble has dramatically changed our understanding of the universe and produced thousands of extraordinary discoveries," Hoyer said.

Throughout his career, Hoyer has been fully committed to preserving Goddard Space Flight Center which is significant both as a national research facility and as a regional employer. "I am pleased that the President's budget proposes $443 million for the continuation of the James Webb Space Telescope, along with funding for Mars Exploration programs and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter," Hoyer said. "Furthermore, this budget provides an important 1.5% increase in funding for science programs critical to Goddard."

Despite having some good features, Hoyer said the President's overall budget proposal will have dire implications for Maryland families.

"This budget is a continuation of the most irresponsible fiscal policies in the history of our nation," Hoyer said. "Not only does this budget proposal make drastic cuts to the programs our state relies on, but it fails to reign in our growing federal deficits."

"This proposal makes clear that the President is making the wrong choices for Maryland and I will fight to restore these cuts and work to ensure our budget is a reflection of the interests and values of our people," Hoyer added.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Hoyer called the President's budget "a milestone in the Federal government's pay annual adjustment practices for members of our armed services and our Federal civilian workforce."

"After five years in office, the Bush administration today finally proposed providing enough money in next year's budget to give each sector the same average pay adjustment," Hoyer said.

Hoyer said providing the same average annual salary adjustments for uniformed personnel and federal civilian employees has enjoyed strong bipartisan support for several years because it is the only way, short of following the 1990 Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act, of preventing the vast compensation gap that exists between public and private sector salaries from widening.

However, Hoyer expressed his concern that the administration's proposed 2.2% increase for members of the military and Federal civilian workforce may be insufficient to meet the needs and challenges confronting our government in 2007. "If we are to recruit and retain the best and brightest women and men to serve in our uniformed and civilian sectors, we must do everything we can to make compensation competitive with the private sector," Hoyer said.

In the weeks ahead, Hoyer said he intends to investigate the adequacy of next year's proposed salary adjustment, consulting with respected members of the House Armed Services Committee, Government Reform Committee, as well as representatives of the military and federal civilian workforce.

EDUCATION

The President has proposed a budget that cuts overall education funding by 3.8 percent, and eliminates 42 education programs, including many critical to Maryland.

In addition, No Child Left Behind funding is $15.4 billion short of the amount promised by the President. "Unfortunately, the President has proposed a budget that fails to keep the bipartisan promise of No Child Left Behind, the landmark education law that aimed to increase performance and accountability in all public schools," Hoyer said.

Higher education does not fare any better. While the cost of a 4-year public college education has increased $3,095 (34%) since 2001, the maximum Pell Grant is frozen for the 4th consecutive year at $4,050.

ENVIRONMENT

Hoyer said the Administration's proposal leaves us far short of the amount necessary to significantly improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

"The President's request for FY 2007 cuts funding for EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program Office by approximately $350,000 to $20.4 million," Hoyer said. "It also eliminates or cuts additional programs crucial to cleaning up the Bay including Farm Bill Conservation programs that help farmers reduce agricultural runoff entering the Bay, the Small Watershed Grant program, the Chesapeake Bay Targeted Watershed Grants Program, and the Clean Water State Revolving Program."

MEDICARE

The President's budget proposes to cut $105 billion from Medicare at a time when seniors are struggling to afford their prescription medicines. "First, Republicans rammed through a prescription drug bill that, in the short month since it has been implemented, has forced over 20 states to declare public health emergencies because thousands of seniors have been denied the drugs they needed. Now, at a time when seniors are still battling the chaos of this new law, President Bush has proposed to undermining Medicare even further by cutting $105 billion from the program."

HOMELAND SECURITY

President Bush's budget proposes eliminating funding for the SAFER Grant Program, which helps departments hire new firefighters, recruit and retain volunteer fire fighters, and provide relief to the thousands of local fire stations across the country that are currently operating short of staff. Furthermore, it proposes to fund the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program at only one third the level appropriated in FY 2004 and 2005. In fact, the President's request represents only 10 percent of the combined amount authorized for these vital firefighting grant programs.

"At a time when our first responders are critical to homeland security, it doesn't make sense to cut back on these valuable resources," Hoyer said. "As an original sponsor of both programs, I will continue to fight for greater support of our firefighters."

"Furthermore, the budget guts funding for programs that assist our local law enforcement agencies by eliminating COPS Law Enforcement Technology Grants, the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance program—a grant program that provides anti-violence, anti-drug and crime prevention grants—and additional Department of Justice grant programs that direct federal funds straight to our local communities, including a reduction in HIDTA funding by nearly $20 million," Hoyer concluded.

VETERANS

"The President continues to break our nation's promise to our veterans," Hoyer said. "He has proposed a $250 annual enrollment fee and increased co-payments for outpatient pharmacy services from $7 to $15, raising health care costs for hundreds of thousands of veterans."

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Hoyer expressed his disappointment that the President's budget fails to reign in historic deficits and debts.

"In five years, this Administration has turned record budget surpluses into deficits as far as the eye can see, including a projected deficit of $354 billion next year," Hoyer said. "Even worse, the President has not proposed a real plan to restore fiscal discipline to the federal budget by refusing to apply bipartisan pay as you go rules to his massive tax cuts."

The President has proposed spending $1.35 trillion to make his tax cuts permanent over 10 years, growing the national debt to $11.5 trillion by 2011.

Hoyer also expressed his disappointment that the President once again called for privatized Social Security accounts beginning in 2010.

"This is absolutely stunning," Hoyer said. "Last year, the country emphatically rejected the President's effort to privatize this critical program. Instead of working in a bipartisan fashion to find a common sense solution to Social Security's solvency, the President's budget embraces an ill-advised, unpopular plan that would turn a guarantee into a gamble."

http://www.hoyer.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=582&DocumentType=Press+Release