Regarding the President's Budget and Iraq

Floor Speech

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, this week, the Washington Post listed a number of existing programs that would be eliminated in President Bush's budget. These are programs that make a real difference in people's lives but have gotten less attention than the major cuts in his budget.

- For example, the President's budget proposes to eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides food packages for about 500,000 low-income elderly persons, women, and children each month. The program received $140 million in 2008. To put that in context, $140 million is the cost of funding 10 hours of the war in Iraq.

- During this economic downturn, the President's budget eliminates the Community Services Block Grant and other community services programs. These programs, which were funded at $698 million in 2008, reduce poverty and provide assistance for individuals dealing with housing, health, nutrition, energy, and substance abuse problems. $698 million is the cost of a little more than 2 days of the war in Iraq.

- At a time of soaring energy prices and record oil company profits, the President's budget eliminates Weatherization Assistance to help Americans lower their energy bills by making improvements to their home's energy efficiency. At $227 million, these program cuts would provide to funding for a little more than 16 hours of the war in Iraq.

- The President's budget also eliminates the COPS program, which provides grants and other assistance to help communities hire, train, and retain police officers and to improve law enforcement technologies. In 2008 it received $587 million, the cost of about a day and a half in Iraq.

- The President's budget eliminates the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps small U.S. manufacturers by providing resources to help them create jobs, leverage private-sector investment, and be more competitive. These cuts would reduce private-sector investment in U.S. manufacturing by an estimated $1.5 billion, and lead to the loss of approximately 37,000 jobs which could be created or retained. The MEP only cost $87 million in 2008, the cost of a little more than 6 hours in Iraq.

- The budget eliminates $1.2 billion in funding for career and technical education in high schools and vocational colleges. This would withdraw assistance for approximately 8 million students who are currently supported by the program--at a cost of approximately 3 1/2 days in Iraq.

- Finally, the President's budget eliminates Medicaid funding for the Graduate Medical Education program, which provides physician training programs to pediatricians to address the major shortfall in pediatric specialists. The policy reduces funding to the program by $302 million--the cost of a little less than 1 day for the war in Iraq.

- Taken together, all of these programs, which benefit millions of Americans, would pay for a little more than a week in Iraq. President Bush's budget represents a sad continuation of his failed fiscal policies. With this budget, the President is telling us that he believes that America should slash investments that help the families across the Nation who are struggling to make ends meet, and that we should instead waste billions of dollars on a misguided war and on tax cuts for his wealthy friends.

- I hope that my colleagues reject these cuts and reject any budget that makes funding the war in Iraq a higher priority than meeting the needs of American families.

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