The newly-released Bush budget for fiscal year 2008 shows that this Administration still isn’t listening to working Americans and, instead, insists on plowing ahead with skewed priorities and misguided policies despite a clear call for a new direction in November’s elections.
While President Bush has called for bipartisan compromise on key economic issues, and has finally recognized growing economic inequality as a problem, his proposed budget reflects none of this. His budget preserves expensive tax cuts for the wealthy and boosts military spending dramatically, while cutting crucial programs for the most vulnerable Americans: children, the elderly, the poor, and the sick. At the same time, the Bush budget shortchanges crucial worker training programs.
While President Bush often talks of preparing American workers to meet the challenges of competing in the global economy, his proposed budget contains over $1 billion in cuts for job training and employment security programs. Just last week, President Bush touted his “reform of job training programs and the expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance.” In reality, the Bush administration has done just the opposite. The Bush “reform” proposals eliminate current training programs to help unemployed adults and at-risk youth and transfer funding for these programs to state block grants for unproven Career Advancement Accounts. These block grants will reduce accountability, diminish training funding, and increase outsourcing of public employment service programs. Bush proposals for block grants and individual training accounts have been rejected by a Republican-majority Congress several times already.
At a time when America’s workers face the loss of millions of good paying jobs to flawed trade policies and off-shoring, and the Bush administration is seeking to renew fast track authority, the President’s budget proposes to cut $77 million from the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides income support and training to workers who lose their jobs due to trade.
On health care, the Bush budget also goes in precisely the wrong direction. At a time when 47 million Americans are without coverage and millions more struggle to meet rising costs, the Bush tax proposal would actually make those who have coverage pay more and provide no real help for the uninsured. Unconscionably, it would also cut almost $80 billion from Medicare and Medicaid, shift more costs to the states, and limit eligibility for children who now receive coverage under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
In the important area of occupational safety and health, the Bush budget increases funding in nominal terms. An increase in funding is being requested for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), particularly the coal enforcement program. But when inflation is factored in, the FY 2008 budget in fact represents a cut in funding compared to FY 2006. The Bush budget also proposes a cut in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) budget, reducing the nation’s commitment to researching and preventing workplace injuries, diseases and deaths. With a combined budget request of $1,056 million for the federal job safety agencies, in FY 2008, the Bush Administration proposes to spend $7.32 per worker to protect American workers from job injuries, illnesses and death.
President Bush should put our nation’s pocketbook into building a better future for America’s working families instead of forcing more cuts in much-needed programs in health care, worker training and health and safety. His 2008 budget simply does not work for America’s working men and women.
Contact: Steve Smith 202-637-5018
