Durbin Says President's Budget is "Out of Touch with the Needs of Illinois and the Nation"

DURBIN SAYS PRESIDENT'S BUDGET IS "OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE NEEDS OF ILLINOIS AND THE NATION"

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the budget the President sent to Capitol Hill today is out of touch with the needs facing residents of Illinois and other Americans. Durbin said that the Bush budget would increase the nation's public debt to nearly $8 trillion, cut 2.1 billion from the federal education budget and reduce the funding for medical research into diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

"The President's annual budget is our first opportunity since the State of the Union to understand the Administration's priorities for the nation. The budget received today continues a failed tax policy at the expense of middle income families, shortchanges education, reduces resources for firefighters and law enforcement and reverses a national commitment to vital medical research," said Durbin.

"Americans are struggling to pay home heating costs, yet the President's budget cuts funding to help the most vulnerable in our nation pay their bills."

"Our children are lagging behind academically and states are struggling to fund public schools, yet the President is proposing the largest education cuts in history."

"The 9/11 Commission and the Bush administration warn that we are still at high risk of terrorist attack, yet the President's budget cuts homeland security grants to states and funding for police and firefighters."

"Medical discoveries that could save lives and money are within reach yet the President's budget cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health for the first time in 26 years.

"The administration's insistence on hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax breaks for the wealthy is driving up our national debt and forcing deep cuts in domestic programs. We need to be more responsible. We need to make funding for education, heating assistance, and basic health insurance our top priorities. This budget puts them last."

Durbin noted that when the President took office in 2001, his economic experts had predicted that the U.S. would run a $5 trillion surplus over the next decade. The U.S. is now expected to run an $8 trillion dollar deficit over that same time.

Durbin said the following line items of the President's new budget pose particular problems for Illinois:

Education:

The President proposes to cut education by $2.1 billion, the largest cut in the 26 year history of the Education Department.

For the fifth year in a row, the President's budget again fails to fully fund the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. The shortfall for 2007 is $15.4 billion, in Illinois the shortfall is $530 million which could have served an additional 159,000 Illinois school children.

In addition, for the second year in a row, the President's budget cuts the federal funding for special education. In Illinois, cuts for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) amount to $283 million less than promised.

The President's budget includes funding for math and science—a goal Senator Durbin has championed for years. But the President pays for his math and science initiatives by cutting 42 existing programs aimed at helping disadvantaged students, in pre-school through college. Two programs which help disadvantaged students get into and succeed in college - GEAR UP and TRIO are directly affected. These cuts include the elimination of nearly all federal vocational education programs. In Illinois, Chicago GEAR UP recently received $49 million and Northeastern Illinois University and the Illinois Dept. of Human Services received $8.2 million and $3.5 million, respectively, in GEAR UP grants. Through the three TRIO programs the President has proposed cutting, Illinois received a total of $17.8 million in 2004 and was able to serve 19,407 disadvantaged students.

For the fourth year in a row, the President's budget makes college expensive by freezing the maximum Pell grant at $4,050 and eliminating the Perkins Loan program, which provides low-interest loans to help needy students.

Health Care:

Despite his promise in the State of the Union address, the President's budget contains no new meaningful initiatives to lower health care costs or reduce the number of uninsured Americans. The President recommends reducing spending for Medicare by $36 billion over the next five years. Over the next ten years, as the baby boomers retire, the President's budget would reduce Medicare spending by $105 billion dollars.

The President's budget cuts funding for 18 of the 19 Institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our leading agency on medical research has lost $1 billion in constant dollars since 2003 and the President proposes to freeze the overall NIH budget at current year levels. To pay for an increase in bioterror and avian flu research, the President is cutting research that could advance treatments for cancer, heart disease and stroke, Lou Gehrig's disease, autism, and diabetes are all cut back in the President's budget.

The President' budget also recommends cuts in several federal health grant programs. The budget cuts Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education funding nationwide by 67 percent. The Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago -- one of several hospitals in the state to benefit from the program -- received $10.2 million in 2004 and $10.1 million in 2005. The program is essential to train the very best medical professionals to serve our children.

The President's budget eliminates Rural Hospital Flexibility Grants. These grants help maintain and upgrade small hospitals in rural areas, and coordinate and improve health care delivery in rural parts of the country. In Illinois, 51 Critical Access Hospitals received a total of $625,000-$650,000 from this grant.

The budget eliminates a federal program that helps pay malpractice premiums for doctors who treat patients in free clinics. "I have met many of these selfless professionals who ask for no pay but only insurance protection to continue their fine work," Durbin noted.

President's budget also eliminates The Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) grant program which improves access to health care services, predominantly primary health care, through projects and activities that link health professions education with communities. The Illinois AHEC Program, led by the Illinois Health Education Consortium, was established in 1991. These Illinois communities are largely those urban and rural regions where there are medically underserved populations and/or health professions shortage areas. The participants are Midwestern University; University of Illinois; Southern Illinois University; Illinois Department of Public Health; Chicago Department of Public Health; Illinois Primary Health Care Association; and Illinois Rural Health Association.

The President's budget eliminates the federal grant program for Allied Health Professionals, which trains people in medical technology, nutrition and other allied health fields experiencing critical shortages.

Homeland Security / First Responders:

The President's budget dramatically cuts funding for the successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program by 78 percent, eliminates the The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, and deeply cuts two programs to hire and train firefighters.

The proposed cuts in COPS funding will be a serious setback for Illinois communities. Since 1994, Illinois law enforcement agencies have been awarded more than $422.7 million in COPS grants for community policing efforts. COPS grants have funded 5,530 additional police officers and sheriff's deputies in Illinois. 682 local and state law enforcement agencies in Illinois have benefited from COPS funding, and $22 million has been awarded to hire 182 school resource offices to improve safety for students, teachers and administrators in Illinois elementary and high schools. An additional $50.3 million has been awarded to enhance crime fighting technologies, allowing Illinois law enforcement officers to spend more time on the streets preventing and fighting crime.

The amount of meth seized by the Illinois State Police increased nearly tenfold between 1997 and 2003, so ending the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funds would severely hamper regional methamphetamine task forces and several crime prevention programs.

The President's budget completely eliminates SAFER firefighter hiring program, which provides funding to fire departments to hire additional fire fighters and first responders. In Illinois, over $1.3 million was awarded to fire departments for hiring/recruiting additional fire fighters in 2005. The budget also reduces funding for the FIRE program, from $545 million to $293 million in FY2007. In Illinois, over $25 million was awarded to IL fire departments for equipment in 2005. This program provides equipment and training to fire departments in Illinois and across the country to help them prepare and respond to terrorist incidents.

Energy:

The President's budget cuts the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to just $1.782 billion from $2.161 billion. LIHEAP funds assist low income households in covering rising residential energy costs. Only two states typically receive more LIHEAP funds than Illinois, and last year the state received nearly $113 million in assistance. In a year when many Illinois residents have seen home heating costs double, the budget for Illinois would be cut by more that $11 million.

The President's budget cuts energy efficiency programs from $316 million to $225 million, a decrease of 28%. One of these programs, D.O.E.'s Weatherization Program that has provided weatherization services to more than 5.3 million low-income families nationwide, would see a reduction in funds of $78.4 million. For 2006, 5,002 Illinois homes are expected to receive weatherization assistance. Based on a 33% reduction in the weatherization budget, 1,668 families would not receive weatherization assistance next year.

National Guard:

The President's budget cuts the Army 's end strength by one combat brigade and the National Guard 's end strength by six brigades -- about 17,000 Guard soldiers. Last year, after a top-to-bottom force review, Army leaders said they need a total of 77 combat brigades to meet mission requirements. At that force level, they said, active duty combat soldiers would spend one year out of three away from their families, and Guard and Reserve troops would spend 18 months away from their families every five or six years. America has relied more heavily on the National Guard in Iraq than in any war since World War II. And more than 50,000 Guard troops were called to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

Veterans:

The President's budget would force more than 50,000 Illinois veterans with incomes as low as $25,842 per year to pay more for their health care. Illinois veterans will be hit with a $250 annual fee to participate in the VA healthcare system and their monthly prescription drug costs will more than double - going up to $15 per month from the current $8 for a 30 day supply of medication.

In addition, the Department of Veterans Affairs has consistently underestimated the agency's true costs in three areas: acute hospital care patients, psychiatric patients and the number of total medical visits have all exceeded VA's projections in three of the last four years. Already more than one million American troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 10,000 soldiers have been wounded in action. Mental health professionals estimate that at least 16 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), requiring psychiatric treatment.

Defense:

The Department of Defense budget hit a record $439.3 billion, and that figure does not include the majority of projected spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. The White House has already announced that it will seek an additional $70 billion in emergency funds for the two wars, and that it will ask for $70 billion more in FY07.

The Pentagon has again failed to fully incorporate these enormous costs into the national security budget. The DOD budget does not include specific funding requests for critical activities including the training of Iraqi Security Forces. In 2006, the training of Iraqi police and security forces cost an estimated $4.4 billion. That effort and that money are critical to a successful transition in 2006 in which Iraqi forces must take the lead in defending their own people and territory, but these costs are not incorporated into the national budget. Congress has supported every Pentagon request for funds for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and would support increased assistance for the training of Iraqi security forces. Like other costs of the war, however, Iraqi troop training should be addressed as part of this budget, rather than managed through repeated supplemental requests.

Economic Development:

The President's 2007 Budget would once again derail Amtrak by allocating $900 million for Amtrak service nationwide, $700 million less than what the rail line needs to operate. The cuts could force closure of some routes. Chicago and 29 other communities in Illinois that serve over 3 million people would see a reduction or possible shutdown of Amtrak service.

The President's budget cuts the Airport Improvement Program by $ 765 million. Illinois will lose $27 million, threatening funding for new runway construction at O'Hare and improvement at airports such as Waukegan, Palwaukee, Cahokia, and Robinson.

Mine Safety:

The President's budget claims to have increased mine safety funding by $11 million. In fact, nearly all that increase will be wiped out by inflation, leaving no new dollars to hire the 130 inspectors Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says it needs. In Illinois, six new coal mines have opened since 2005 and it ranks third in the nation in coal production. Four of the six budgets President Bush has proposed since taking office have cut MSHA funding.

Child Care:

The President's budget cuts the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) by $500 million, from $3 billion to $2.5 billion. Much of this funding is devoted to child care funding assistance to help working families provide a safe environment for their children. Illinois is projected to receive $73.6 million in SSBG funding in FY2006. The proposed cut would take more than $12 million out of Illinois's budget for child care and other supportive services provided to families.

The budget also provides no inflation adjustment for after-school programs provided through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The funding for this program would remain flat at $981 million, $1.5 billion below the $2.5 billion authorized for FY2007. In Illinois, 46 community-based organizations receive $16.8 million to serve students in 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The shortfall in funding leaves behind two million students, who would be receiving before- and after-school services and summer opportunities if the program were funded at the level promised in the No Child Left Behind Act. If the program were fully funded, Illinois would receive $101.3 million in FY2007. Under the President's budget, the state is projected to receive only $40.2 million, leaving more than 82,000 Illinois students without access to a local program. Parents of these children will continue to wonder where their children are between the time school is dismissed and the time the parents can arrive home from work.

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