THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

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For Immediate Release

March 16, 2000

Programmatic Impact of Congressional Budget Resolution

The President's budget provides significant investments in key priorities that are essential to our nation's future, including in education, law enforcement and science and technology. The Congressional Budget Resolution slashes these priorities. For example:

• Funding for education, training and social services would be cut by the resolution by $4.7 billion below the President's budget. Funding at these levels would make it impossible to reach the President's goals for critical programs:
• to serve approximately 950,000 children in Head Start:
• to provide urgent repairs for 5,000 schools;
• and to hire 49,000 qualified teachers in public schools, essential to reducing class size.
• Science and space programs would be cut 6 percent from the President's budget, curtailing critical investments in our nation's future. A reduction of this amount to NSF would result in 8,000 fewer researchers, educators, and students would receive NSF support, affecting the high-tech workforce and well-trained students needed for the Nation's future.
• The Budget Resolution limits funding for law enforcement $2.3 billion below the President's budget. At this level:
• the number of FBI agents would be cut by 900 below the President's level;
• the number of DEA personnel would be cut 850 below the President's level; and
• no funding for the President's plan to add 430 INS border patrol agents.
• The resolution cuts funding for income security programs for low-income American families by 15 percent or $6.1 billion below the President's request.
• Over 1.1 million low-income women, infants, and children would be cut from the WIC program.
• Failure to provide requested increases for assisted housing could result in over 1million low-income families losing their homes.
• Funding for commerce and housing programs including programs for small business, would be reduced by almost 18 percent below the request -- forcing cuts in the Small Business Administration and preventing loans to 9,000 small businesses.

The Congressional Budget Resolution cuts a total of $20 billion below the funding required to maintain current levels of service, resulting in untenable and unacceptable funding levels in many areas.

• Even though the nation is faced by rapidly increasing oil and gas prices, the Budget Resolution would cut funding for critical energy programs by 7-percent below a freeze. Reduced energy conservation funding would cut 4,500 low-income homes from receiving weatherization, compared to FY 2000.
• The allocation for transportation makes no provision for the $1.5 billion in added funding for the Federal Aviation Administration that would be required by the legislation passed this week by Congress to build and repair airports.
• The Budget Resolution would cut International Affairs spending by $2.5 billion below the 2000 enacted level, $3.1 billion below the President's request. These drastic cuts would jeopardize the safety of our diplomatic operations overseas, prevent the US from maintaining its commitments to International Organizations such as the United Nations, undermines the safety of our diplomatic operations overseas, and would either requires either significant cuts to our assistance to the Middle East or eliminate US assistance in other parts of the world.

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