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WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will
propose a 4.5 percent spending reduction in all economic and
community development programs, but ask Congress to make much
deeper cuts to some grant programs tapped by local governments,
two cabinet secretaries said on Thursday.
Bush will propose the consolidation of 18 grant programs,
including the popular Community Development Block Grant program
used by U.S. cities throughout the United States.
Those 18 programs would be mashed together into a new grant
program with total funding of $3.71 billion.
That would be a far cry from current year funding for those
programs, said congressional aides who pegged Bush's proposed
community and economic development grant cuts closer to 40
percent. Funding this year totaled $4.7 billion for the
Community Development Block Grant program alone, for example.
"This is an all-out assault on the community development
program in an effort to cover up the budget crisis that they
have created with the war and tax cuts for the rich," Rep.
Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Reuters.
"George Bush's 'ownership society' is clearly only for the
rich," he said.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, with Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, said Bush will request
$15.5 billion in fiscal 2006 funds for all community and
economic development programs that provide grants, loans and
tax incentives, down from $16.2 billion this year.
The $3.71 billion for the grant programs pegged for
consolidation would come out of that $15.5 billion total.
Senior Bush administration officials familiar with the plan
said consolidation is aimed at focusing funds at the neediest
communities to help them become "self-sufficient" and break
their reliance on "perpetual federal government assistance."
The National League of Cities and other groups representing
local governments said they were worried about the plan's
impact on funding available to cities, especially funds that
now come from the Community Development Block Grant program.
"We're concerned about the administration's statement that
many communities no longer need assistance," said Jon Heroux,
senior legislative counsel with the National League of Cities.
"This is a program that's meant to build upon the future.
Human problems don't go away," he said.
Senior Bush administration officials said the 18 programs
targeted lack accountability and cannot sufficiently
demonstrate a measurable impact on economic development.
Some of the communities that receive grant funding may not
need the money, they said, noting that 38 percent of the
Community Development Block Grant funding goes to states and
communities with less poverty than the national average.
NEW COMMERCE PROGRAM
The Community Development Block Grant, along with the 17
other programs in Bush's consolidation plan, would be moved
from various federal agencies to a new division at the Commerce
Department.
They would lose their individual identities and become part
of one new program that would include two parts. The lion's
share of the funding would be dedicated to a formula-based
grant program for cities that meet eligibility criteria based
on job loss, unemployment levels and poverty.
A smaller portion of the funding under the plan would be
distributed to "development-ready" communities.
Communities show they are ready for development by meeting
goals outlined under Bush's No Child Left Behind education
reform, reducing regulatory barriers to business creation and
housing development, and reducing violent crime rates.
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What a surprise.... :eyes:
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