Bush Budget Cuts Could Cost Latino Groups Millions
Rosa Ramírez     [Photo]

Hispanic advocacy groups contend that Latinos and other communities of color will be hurt the most by President Bush's security-focused $2.6 trillion budget proposal submitted to Congress Feb. 7 for fiscal year 2006.

Contacted by Hispanic Link News Service, they are expressing particular concern with the proposed elimination of long-standing educational programs. More than a third of the overall cuts are of Education Department programs. All federal departments except Homeland Security and Defense face reductions.

Eliminated would be a total of 48 educational programs, including the Perkins Loan Fund and college preparation programs, such as Upward Bound, Talent Search and GEAR UP for low-income students.

Some 450,000 underserved youth currently participate in Upward Bound and Talent Search, which are part of the TRIO programs. Latinos comprise 19% of TRIO participants.

Hilda Crespo, vice president for public policy and federal relations at ASPIRA, a non-profit organization providing educational and leadership training to Hispanic youth, says that the cuts for such programs will be "devastating" for Hispanic students. ASPIRA stand to lose more than $1 million in funding.

Without Talent Search, she states, "We won't be able to provide post-secondary education at the same level." ASPIRA serves 20,000 students each year, with the majority participating in that program.

Additionally, the League of United Latin American Citizens’ National Educational Service Centers would undergo drastic changes.

Charles Tamez, its development director, reports that as many as 17 of its education centers serving more than 25,000 Latino students may shut down if Congress votes to eliminate Upward Bound and Talent Search. LNESC would lose approximately $5.5 million, Tamez projects.

U.S. Rep. Hilda Solís (D-Calif.) accuses Bush of breaking faith with Hispanics, "hitting us at the very heart of our community."

The President’s response to critics who accuse him of submitting a budget that is "hurtful" to disadvantage communities, minces no words: "The important question that needs to be asked from all constituencies is whether or not the programs achieve a certain result. The poor and disadvantaged absolutely ought to be asking the question, too."

Few on Capitol Hill expect all of the President’s proposed cuts to stick. Latino Republican legislators say they are confident they can work with Democratic counterparts on issues concerning those cuts.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) who sits on the House Budget Committee, offers this assessment: "I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner in addressing the budget, specifically on issues dealing with education."

Lily Eskelsen, secretary-treasurer of the National Education Association, expands, "We're not taking this sitting down." The NEA, with 2.7 million members working in education across the country, plans a "full-court press" with Congress she warns, concurring, “A lot of Republicans are joining the Democrats in saying there is going to be a major, major revision of the President's proposal."

Dr. Elena Ríos, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association, reports that the budget significantly reduces several health programs of importance to Hispanics, including cuts at the Centers for Disease Control, which is responsible for preventive care and research.

She says that the CDC "provides major programs that help our communities. Programs like breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV and AIDS programs, and injury prevention."

Some programs will actually see minor increases, among them a $304 million boost over FY2005 in the $2 billion allotment for health centers in medically underserved areas. This is part of Bush's proposal to create 1,200 center sites in high-poverty counties by 2006.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, with several programs reaching out to Hispanic and black entrepreneurs, is also slated for major funding reduction.

Headed by Héctor Barreto, the SBA was written in for $593 million, down $85 million from FY2005.

"What was once a Cabinet-level agency that had a seat at the table, a $1 billion budget, and a large role in the decision-making process, has sadly become the shell of an agency," says Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Small Business Committee.

Among the programs marked for elimination are Microloan, which provides assistance of up to $35,000 and technical advice to new and growing small businesses, and HUBZone, which provides incentives for businesses to create jobs in poor communities.

The U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development faces an 11 percent funding chop. One of its programs, the Community Development Block Grant, designed to fund homeless shelters, senior centers and provide affordable housing, could be eliminated.

If the President is serious about demanding all his proposed domestic program reductions, he’s going to have a fight on his hands. National Low Income Housing Coalition president Sheila Crowley draws the battle line clearly: "Congress must reject these lopsided priorities."

(Hispanic Link correspondent Rosa Ramírez prepared this report. Link staffers Patricia Guadalupe, Jarrett Acey and Edwin Reyes assisted in the reporting)

© 2005, Hispanic Link News Service.
02/20/05
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