Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

April 10, 2001

ROCKEFELLER OUTLINES CONCERNS ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S OFFICIAL BUDGET CUTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) spoke out again today on the President’s budget after reviewing the official budget that was formally submitted to Congress on Monday. Although cuts in many programs had been anticipated, this final budget submission confirms that the President’s budget-cutting approach would cost West Virginians millions of dollars in services and federal aid.

"I support a significant number of funding requests in this budget, especially the substantial increase in funding for the military. At the same time, as a Senator from West Virginia, my number one priority is to protect the interests of West Virginians. After carefully reviewing the specifics, it’s clear that the President’s budget slashes funding for many projects and programs that are critical to us in West Virginia," Rockefeller said. "The President’s budget doesn’t meet West Virginia’s needs. I cannot support a budget that cuts funding for health care, police on our streets, clean air and water, and technology for our children’s future."

The Senator released the following list outlining some of the funding shortfalls in the President’s budget that will adversely effect the people of West Virginia.

Health Care

• Raiding Social Security and Medicare -- The President’s budget undermines the future of both Social Security and Medicare by making their surpluses available for purposes other than paying existing benefits promised under current law. Under the President’s budget, current Medicare surpluses would be cut by $153 billion to pay for a new prescription drug benefit and unspecified Medicare "reforms" even though Medicare already needs these funds to pay for its current and future benefits.

• Insufficient Prescription Drug Proposal -- The budget includes only a temporary, four-year prescription drug benefit funded outside of the Medicare program. The so-called "immediate helping hand" initiative gives states a limited block grant, $11 billion in 2002, to provide assistance to fewer than half of today’s seniors. About 25 million seniors, most of whom do not have access to affordable drug coverage, would be denied coverage under the plan.

• Help for the Uninsured -- The budget eliminates the Community Access Program (CAPS) for the uninsured. The program allows health care providers such as community health centers and public hospitals to coordinate health care services for those who are under or uninsured.

• Low-income Medical Services -- In the 2002 budget proposal, the National Health Service Corps is slated for level-funding at $126 million, essentially freezing their budget at the 2001 level. NHSC physicians are often the mainstay for the health care work force for institutions such as community health centers and public hospitals that serve the under or uninsured.

Energy and Environment

• Protecting the Environment -- The budget also cuts $400 million from the Department of the Interior’s budget, $500 million from the Environmental Protection Agency and $600 million from the Army Corps of Engineers.

• Clean Coal -- The 2002 budget cuts nationwide investment in clean coal R&D by $96.5 million. This cut is not offset by the separate $150 million for a Clean Coal Power Initiative. This Initiative fails to continue research on improvements in clean coal technologies critical to coal's future, but instead would give the funding to individual companies – likely those outside of West Virginia – to use existing technologies that do not advance the science of clean coal electricity generation.

• Additional Fossil Fuel Cuts – The President’s budget cuts several fossil fuel programs important to West Virginia and the nation:

• The Fuels program -- which finds commercially viable non-fuel uses for coal -- is down $164.2 million nationwide from last year (50.7 percent).

• With the United States more dependent than ever on foreign petroleum and natural gas imports, DOE’s Natural Gas is cut 53.4 percent and Petroleum programs are reduced 54.4 percent.

• DOE-funded fossil fuel environmental restoration is eliminated.

• Renewable Energy Resources

• Renewable Support and Implementation, which provides financial incentives to public power generators and non-profit electric cooperatives to help them acquire and implement renewable energy technologies, is cut 76.2 percent;

• Solar Energy R&D is cut 53.7 percent. This program supports emission-free large-scale power generation, on-site electricity generation, and passive heating of water and usable space. One component of the program, to concentrate solar energy for large-area electricity generation, is reduced by 85.9 percent;

• Hydropower R&D is reduced by 49.9 percent. When fully funded, this program conducts important research aimed at improving the technical, economic, and environmental performance of the nation’s abundant, existing hydropower facilities.

– The budget as submitted reduces funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resources by 36.4 percent, or $13.57 million. This dramatic reduction will reduce the nation’s ability to achieve energy independence through enhanced energy efficiency and conservation, and the use of environmentally friendly alternative fuels. Particularly hard hit among these programs:

Community Services

• Child Care Block Grant -- Child care is essential for moving parents from welfare to work. It is also important for parents who are struggling to make ends meet. The budget cuts $200 million from the Child Care Block Grant.

• COPS Program -- The President’s budget includes a $270 million cut in the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) program. This is a 46% reduction in grants that are used to hire community police officers. Since its inception, the COPS Program has sent more than $36 million to West Virginia to allow law enforcement agencies in all 55 counties to hire 629 new police officers.

• Disaster and Flood Relief – The budget cuts funding for FEMA’s disaster relief program $270 million (16 percent) below the level needed to maintain current services. West Virginia suffers flood damage virtually every Spring. Many West Virginians are concerned about the effect the budget cuts will have on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides federal funding for disaster mitigation.

Education / Science and Technology

• E-Rate -- The budget threatens the E-rate program – which wires schools and libraries to the Internet – by turning it into a formula grant approach. Through the E-rate program nearly 90 percent of West Virginia schools have gained access to the Internet.

• Scientific Advancement -- The budget would undermine American leadership in science and technology and threatens funding for West Virginian universities. In the 1960's, strong federal support of science and technology led to thirty years of advances like the Internet, sequencing the human genome, and creating laser technology. But this dedication to science was lost in the 1980's. Now, after several years of sustained effort to regain American leadership through increases in federal funding, the Bush budget provides $200 million less than what is needed for the National Science Foundation and other federal science programs to maintain current efforts, and grinds to a halt our commitment to increasing American science and technology leadership.

Housing

• Drug Elimination for Public Housing -- The budget eliminates the funding of a small, but key program known as the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program, which was established in 1988 by then-President George Bush.

• Low-income Housing Assistance -- The budget cuts funding for Community Development Block Grants, causing the funding to drop $516 million below current levels needed to sustain the program. The program provides housing rehabilitation, public services, public facilities and economic development for low- and moderate- income communities.

Issues

Press Room: Press Releases

ROCKEFELLER OUTLINES CONCERNS ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S OFFICIAL BUDGET CUTS