Press Release

ARCURI CRITICAL OF PRESIDENT’S BUDGET PROPOSAL

Washington, DC -- U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) today released the following statement in response to the President’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget submission to Congress:

“This budget in no way advances the well-being of America’s hard-working middle class families. The President’s budget proposal is fiscally irresponsible and cuts funding to a number of programs that provide crucial services to many Upstate New Yorkers. 

“People in Upstate New York know how to live on a budget; they make household budgets and run small businesses in fiscally responsible and economically sound ways.  It is imperative that we run the federal government just like we run our own homes: without breaking the bank.

“I agree with the President that we have to reform the Alternative Minimum Tax that will soon burden middle class families.  But the President’s budget provides only a short-term band-aid solution to an issue that requires long-term attention.

“I welcome the opportunity in the coming months to work with my colleagues to find a bipartisan solution that will bring fiscal responsibility to the federal budget while meeting the needs of middle-class Americans. New Yorkers deserve a budget that will keep their families safe, ensure critical services for those who need them most, and allow their communities to thrive.”

The President’s Budget for New York:

- Reductions in the State Homeland Security Grant program – which awarded $202 million to New York between 2003 and 2006 – to only $187 million nationally;
- Eliminates the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program;
- Reduces Community Development Block Grants by $104 million in New York;
- 2.1 million Social Security Beneficiaries in the state could see annual cuts of $7, 229;
- $78 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid nationally– endangering New York’s 2.8 million Medicare patients;
- Cuts $63 million from LIHEAP for New York; and
- $21 million less than fiscal year 2006 for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

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