Senate Democrats Try to Temper House Spending Cuts

Senate Democrats have now offered their own spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year—and it rejects the most drastic cuts adopted by the Republican-led House.

The legislation approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday would not, for example, kill AmeriCorps or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or end all federal payments to Planned Parenthood.

It would also temper proposed cuts to community health centers, Head Start, Child Care and Development Block Grants, and Community Services Block Grants. However, it would give less to many social programs than President Obama proposed. Over all, the committee proposed to slice $51-billion out of the president’s budget plan for the 2011 fiscal year.

“In contrast to the House bill, the Senate proposal will allow the government to continue operating at reduced levels without major disruptions that would set back our economic recovery and eliminate countless American jobs,” Sen. Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii and chairman of the appropriations committee, said in a statement.

The House and Senate must now try to reconcile their wide differences over the legislation, which would direct spending through September 30, to avoid a government shutdown when the current stopgap spending bill expires on March 18.

A sampling of what Senate Democrats propose to spend:

• Corporation for National and Community Service: $1.2-billion. The House wants to shut down the national-service agency, offering just $245.9-million to cover salaries and other obligations through the end of the fiscal year. President Obama proposed $1.4-billion.

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: $445-million for 2013 (budget allocations are made two years in advance). The House proposed to end spending on the agency, which provides grants to public radio and television broadcasters. President Obama proposed $460-million.

• Child Care and Development Block Grants: $2.4-billion. The House wants to spend $2.1-billion on the program, which pays for child-care services for low-income parents. President Obama proposed $2.9-billion.

• Community Development Block Grants: $3.9-billion, the same as proposed by President Obama. The House proposed to cut spending on this program, which pays for housing and economic-development projects in low-income neighborhoods, by 62 percent, to $2.5-billion

• Community Health Centers: $2.1-billion, the same as current spending. The House proposed cutting $1-billion from the budget, in effect nullifying the extra $1-billion the centers are set to get from the health-care overhaul bill.

• Community Services Block Grants: $700-million, the same as proposed by President Obama. The House proposed spending $395-million on this program, which helps a nationwide network of community-action agencies operate antipoverty projects.

• Family planning: $317.5-million. The House proposed zero. President Obama proposed $327.4-million.

• Head Start: $7.6-billion. The House proposed spending $6.2-billion on the early-learning program. President Obama proposed $8.2-billion.

• Promise Neighborhoods: $20-million. The House proposed spending nothing on this program, which helps nonprofits across the country design projects modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone. President Obama proposed $210-million.