Durbin Says President's Budget is not the Budget Americans Voted for in November

DURBIN SAYS PRESIDENT'S BUDGET IS NOT THE BUDGET AMERICANS VOTED FOR IN NOVEMBER

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the budget President Bush delivered to Capitol Hill today shows that the President has not listened to the American people who voiced their opinions at the voting booth last fall.

"Last November, the country voted for a government that would put the needs of American families first," said Durbin. "We need to make funding for education, healthcare, homeland security and a new energy policy our top priorities. This budget puts them near the bottom of the list. We need to be responsible with the way we spend federal dollars so that we don't saddle our children with our debt. These are the priorities shared by millions of American families. The budget the President presented today is not the budget the American people voted for."

Education:

"Last November, Americans voted for a government that would give schools the money they need, so that their kids could have a good education. This budget not only fails to give our failing public school system additional funds, it proposes to cut funding by $1.5 billion, for a total of $56 billion. This represents a 2.6 percent cut from the fiscal year 2007 level of $57.5 billion. We need a budget that will fund our struggling public school system and ensure that the cost of a college education is still within reach for middle-income Americans."

For the sixth year in a row, the President's budget fails to fully fund the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. While funding for NCLB will increase by $993 million, for a total of $24.6 billion, the President's budget continues to under-fund NCLB by $14.8 billion this year, for a cumulative shortfall of $70.9 billion since enactment of the law. The bulk of federal funding for NCLB is provided through Title I, which helps schools provide textbooks, teachers and additional classroom help to students from low-income families.

The President's proposed increases for Title I and math instruction, and a $300 million voucher initiative to support education outside of public schools would come at the expense of 44 programs, including career and technical education, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, the Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships Program and Perkins Loans.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate students. In 2005, over $56.4 million in SEOG grants helped more than 49,000 Illinois college students. The Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships Program provides grants to states for need-based grants and community service work-study assistance to college students. In 2006, Illinois received over $2 million in LEAP grants. The Perkins Loan program provides low-interest loans to help needy students. In 2005, approximately $90.3 million in Perkins loans helped over 39,000 Illinois colleges students.

The President also proposes a $687 million reduction for career and technical education funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act, despite the fact that Congress reauthorized and strengthened this program just last year and the President signed the reauthorization bill into law. As a result of the cut, most states would see their funding reduced by almost half, and 5 million secondary students and 3 million postsecondary students participating in career and technical education programs, as well as more than 2 million students enrolled in Tech Prep programs, could see their courses reduced or eliminated.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: In Illinois, colleges would have $22.7 million for such assistance in FY08, compared to $49.2 million in Perkins technical and vocational grants last year.

For the fifth year in a row, the President's budget makes college more expensive by under-funding or cutting student aid programs aimed at helping disadvantaged students gain access to college and failing to include any initiatives that help college students pay off student loans. The President's budget proposes to increase the maximum Pell to $4,600 in 2008 and increase it to $5,400 by 2012. However, the budget only includes enough funding for a maximum award of $4,050, the same as it has been for the past five years. The President's proposed increase would be implemented through separate legislation and paid for with cuts in mandatory spending. Pell Grants have not kept pace with the rising cost of attending college. In 1986, maximum Pell Grant covered 51% of the cost of tuition, fees, room and board at a public four-year college, but only covered 35% in 2005.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Last year, over 192,000 Illinois students were awarded nearly $440 million in Pell Grants.

The President's budget also fails to include any initiatives to help college students pay off student loans. From 2001 through 2006, the price of tuition, fees, and room and board at four-year public institutions has increased by 44 percent nationally and 34 percent in Illinois. In 2004, nearly two-thirds of all four-year college graduates nationwide had student loan debt, compared with less than one-third of graduates in 1993. The President's budget does nothing to help students struggling with this increasing debt.

The President's budget would also cut Head Start by $100 million, for a total of $6.79 billion. For 30 years, Head Start has helped young children from disadvantaged families enter kindergarten as prepared as their more economically advantaged peers. Since 2002, Head Start has been cut by 11 percent in real terms. Head Start serves more than half a million children all over the United States.

The budget adds no increase for afterschool programs, currently funded at $981 million - $1.5 billion below the $2.5 billion authorized level for FY2007. The Bush budget leaves behind 2 million students who would receive afterschool services if the program were funded at the level promised last year in NCLB.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: If afterschool programs were fully funded at the federal level, Illinois would receive $102 million in FY2008. Under the President's budget, the state is projected to receive only $44 million, leaving more than 76,000 Illinois students without access to a local afterschool 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.

Health Care:

"President Bush's real thoughts about health care can be found in the budget he released today: massive spending cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, no real improvements to the Medicare drug benefit, and penalties for states that are working to expand health coverage to all children. We must put providing real help for seniors ahead of lining the pockets of the corporations that benefit when seniors get sick," said Durbin. "Until the President adequately funds Medicare and gives the government authority to bargain on behalf of seniors, the current drug plan will continue to be a financial boon to the pharmaceutical industry and a bad deal for seniors."

Once again, the President is proposing large cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The President's budget recommends reducing spending for Medicare by $76 billion and Medicaid by $25 billion over the next five years through legislative and regulatory changes. These cuts would come on top of the more than $10 billion in Medicare and Medicaid cuts (over five years) he signed into law last year. The President's budget also fails to recommend improvements to the Medicare drug benefit, and his proposal for expanding health insurance coverage would do more harm than good.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: In Illinois, more than 1.5 million people depend on Medicare and more than 2 million people depend on Medicaid for essential health care services.

The President' budget reduces federal payments for the State Children's Health Insurance Program to Illinois and other states that cover children with family incomes exceeding twice the poverty level.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Illinois would lose $16 million in SCHIP funding under the President's budget, which translates into a loss of coverage for 13,000 children in the state. Illinois has covered all children, regardless of income, since July 2006 with its historic All Kids initiative. The President's recommendations would determine limitations on which kids have health insurance and penalize Illinois' expansion efforts. Nationally, SCHIP ensures the health coverage of 6 million children.

The President's budget also eliminates vital programs that increase minority representation in the health professions and access to quality healthcare for all. The budget reduces funding for Health Professions Training by $180 million, a 61% cut in important programs that contribute to the quality of our healthcare system. Cutting scholarships for disadvantaged students will reduce the opportunities for many students to pursue a career in medicine.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: The University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) Center of Excellence and the federal Health Career Opportunities Program sites at UIC, Chicago State University, Oakton Community College and other academic institutions are critical for training a diverse cadre of health professionals and improving service to underserved and rural populations. Yet the President's budget eliminates all funding for both the Health Career Opportunities program and Centers of Excellence in health professions training.

The President's budget proposes a total of $17 million for Rural Health Programs, a cut of $104 million or 87%. This includes eliminating 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.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: In Illinois, AHEC assists those communities with medically underserved populations and/or health professions shortage areas. AHEC partners include 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.

While the President proposes a $13 million increase for Nurse Loan Repayments, his budget eliminates the Advanced Education Nursing program which allows registered nurses to go to school to qualify as faculty or other nurse specialties.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Illinois faces an acute shortage of nurse faculty, and the proposed elimination of the only federal program to address this need would hurt Illinois efforts to address this growing problem. Last year, for lack of nurse teachers, Illinois schools turned away 1,900 qualified applicants for enrollment in a college of nursing. Despite the growing number of applicants, Illinois is moving toward a nurse shortage that could reach 21,000 nurses needed by 2020.

The President's Budget also proposes to cut $424 million (when compared to the FY07 CR that Congress is now considering) from the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. While the President should be commended for his commitment to fight HIV/AIDS, the Global Fund should be funded just as aggressively.

Homeland Security:

"Our law enforcement agencies, first responders and emergency preparedness officials back home need to know that the federal government will provide them with the tools they need," said Durbin. "As we witnessed with recent natural disasters, communities large and small face special challenges and vulnerabilities when disaster strikes. The President's budget does not provide the funding needed to protect public safety and to ensure that our citizens will be evacuated quickly and safely should a natural disaster or terrorist attack occur."

The President's budget cuts funding for state and local law enforcement assistance by $1.3 billion, dramatically decreases funding for the successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, and eliminates the SAFER firefighter hiring program.

The proposed cuts in state and local law enforcement assistance programs will pose a serious setback for Illinois communities. The programs for which the President seeks to cut funding include the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants, which have been used to fund anti-methamphetamine task forces in Illinois, as well as other programs dealing with drug prevention and enforcement, law enforcement information sharing, and combating gangs.

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

Whereas the Democratically-controlled Congress allocated $542 million for COPS in the Fiscal Year 2007 Continuing Resolution - a $70 million increase over 2006 funding levels - the President's budget would give only $32 million for COPS.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Since 1994, Illinois has received more than $422.7 million in COPS grants for community policing efforts, helping Illinois law enforcement agencies fight and reduce violent crime. These grants have provided funding for 5,530 additional police officers and sheriff's deputies in Illinois, and have benefited 682 local and state law enforcement agencies. In addition, the COPS program has given Illinois $22 million to hire 182 school resource offices to enhance safety in Illinois primary and secondary schools. The program has also awarded over $50 million for crime fighting technologies, such as communications equipment and information-sharing systems.

The President's budget completely eliminates the SAFER firefighter hiring program, which provides funding to fire departments to hire additional fire fighters and first responders. In Illinois, approximately $4.4 million was awarded to fire departments for hiring/recruiting additional fire fighters in 2006. The budget also reduces funding for the FIRE program, from $547 million to $300 million.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: In Illinois, over $13.6 million was awarded to IL fire departments for equipment in 2006. 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 does not fully address the most critical energy issue facing Americans today: our growing dependence on foreign oil and the impact this dependence has on our economic security and national security. We need an aggressive energy policy that provides more funding for the development of renewable energy options."

The President's budget fails to recognize the role that renewable energy needs to play in our energy future. Overall funding for funding for energy efficiency programs was also cut by 21.9 percent from 2006 levels. The budget proposes an 8.6 percent cut from fiscal year 2007 in wind energy funding, to $40 million; flat funding for solar energy, and a 17.6 percent cut in weatherization and intergovernmental activities - which includes the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology and practices by state and local governments.

As energy prices continue to burden low-income American families, the Administration has again failed to provide full funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The Administration provided only $1.5 billion in formula funding and $282 million for contingency funding, for a total of $1.782 billion, a 17.5 % cut from the $2.161 billion enacted for FY 2007 and FY 2006. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized LIHEAP at $5.1 billion.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Nearly 1 million families in Illinois seek assistance from LIHEAP annually. This year, Illinois' formula funding will be cut from $113 million to $85 million in the following year. (According the Short Term Energy Outlook, EIA/DOE 1/9/07 - the 79 percent of Midwestern households using natural gas are paying 95 percent more for heat than they were in (2001-2002).

Finally, just weeks after President Bush mentioned global climate change in his State of the Union address and only days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded for the first time that global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activity is the main driver, the Administration's Climate Change Science Program budget was cut by $120 million, or a 7 percent decrease from FY 2007 budget.

Agriculture:

"More than 76,000 farm families in Illinois produce crops and livestock that feed families all over the world," said Durbin. "Our state's farmland is some of the most productive on the planet, and federal agriculture policy is vitally important to Illinoisans. One of the most critical funding areas for the continued vitality of America's farmers and rural areas is agricultural research, which has led to improvements in crop and livestock genetics and the development of new and value added products. Some of the best research in this area is being done at the ARS lab in Peoria and the University of Illinois Extension Services."

Unfortunately, the President's budget proposes cuts in nearly every agricultural research line item. Overall, the agricultural research budget was cut $306 million or 13 percent from FY2007, with decreases of $28 million in basic research and $133 million in applied research. The President's budget also cuts funding for the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) by $48 million and for Extension activities by $167 million.

Transportation:

"Amtrak is vitally important to Illinois," said Durbin. "Unfortunately, the President and his Administration are once again attempting to privatize and eventually eliminate Amtrak rail service. Year after year, these political games drive Amtrak to the brink of insolvency and Congress is forced to ride to the rescue."

The President's 2008 Budget would once again derail Amtrak by allocating $800 million for Amtrak service nationwide, roughly $800 million less than what the rail line needs to operate. The cuts could force closure of some routes.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Chicago and 29 other communities in Illinois that serve over 3 million people would see a reduction or possible shutdown of Amtrak service. Durbin noted that more than 3 million people in Illinois boarded Amtrak in 2005, making the passenger rail line one of the most important modes of transportation in the state. Every intrastate route in Illinois has seen significant increases in the past few years in ridership, and ridership numbers on three state routes were up by an average of 49% over a comparative two-month span from the previous year after the state of Illinois added train service in late 2006. Therefore, it is vital that Amtrak receive the proper level of federal funding so that these trains can continue to operate.

The President's budget cuts the Airport Improvement Program by $750 million.

ILLINOIS IMPACT: Illinois will lose $34 million, threatening funding for new runway construction at O'Hare and improvement at airports such as Waukegan, Palwaukee, Cahokia, and Robinson.

Spending Responsibly:

"American families balance their checkbooks; why shouldn't the federal government? Last November, Americans voted for a government that would work to balance the national checkbook, but the President's budget will put our country in a deeper fiscal hole. By using gimmicks and failing to account for the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President claims that his budget will eliminate the annual deficit by 2012. The American people will not be fooled by this sleight of hand."

Last month, the President announced that he was sending 21,500 additional combat forces to Iraq. But the reality of the escalation is even worse: the Congressional Budget Office has concluded that the real numbers of troops sent may be closer to 48,000 than 21,500 when you include support personnel. The Administration had predicted that the troop increase would cost $5.6 billion. CBO estimates that it may cost as much as $27 billion over the next year.

The President's budget also fails to include adjustments to the Alternative Minimum Tax in his budget which, if not changed, will raise taxes on tens of millions of middle class families this year and beyond. "The President knows that Congress will not allow the middle class to be gobbled up by the AMT, yet he avoids addressing this issue altogether in his budget."

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 a $9-10 trillion dollar deficit over that same time. The national debt now equals almost $29,000 for every American alive today.

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