Federal Budget Measure Cuts Spending on Many Charity Programs

Congress has passed a $388-billion spending bill for 2005 that would cut a broad array of federal programs that support

charities and the people they serve, including programs in housing, social services, education, and national service, while increasing the budgets of some others, including those supporting the arts and the international fight against AIDS.

The measure, an omnibus bill that incorporates nine separate federal spending bills, overall would spend about 1 percent less than last year on all programs that don’t involve defense. The bill also included millions of dollars earmarked for specific charities.

The bill covers federal spending for the 2005 fiscal year, which began October 1. Congress previously approved a series of temporary resolutions to keep the government running until the full spending bill becomes law.

Charity leaders who help the poor say that tax cuts, the rising deficit, terrorism, and the war in Iraq have strained the federal budget, leaving little money to meet the needs of those they serve. And they say they fear the Bush administration is likely to make deeper cuts in their programs in the future.

“We are truly alarmed,” says Irv Katz, president of the National Human Services Assembly, a coalition of human-service groups. “Investing in human development on our own shores has taken a back seat to all other expenditures by the federal government.”

Technology Effort Dies

Some federal programs would sustain significant cuts, including several housing-assistance efforts, and at least one program would be eliminated, a project that sought to bring information technology to the poor, those living in rural areas, and those who are members of minority groups.

But in many cases, reductions would be much smaller. Nevertheless, smaller cuts “will result in very real reductions in services, and a decline in the number of needy families who can get the housing, training, and child-care help they need,” says Jennifer Beeson, director of public policy at the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of more than 170 organizations, including civil-rights, religious, labor, women’s, children’s, and disability-rights organizations.

Some charities would see gains under the bill.

Cultural programs, such as those supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, would receive modest increases, as would some nutrition programs. The Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program would receive nearly 9 percent more than last year, or $5.2-billion. The Compassion Capital Fund, created by President Bush to provide social-service grants to charitable and religious organizations, would receive $55-million, 15.3 percent more than last year. And global AIDS relief would receive a record $2.9-billion, 21 percent more than Congress provided last year. Programs that help Americans did not fare as well: Money for programs to prevent the spread of HIV in the United States, for example, would decline from $696-million last year to an estimated $662.7-million this year.

Dozens of charities also benefited from so-called pork-barrel spending, funds that lawmakers inserted in the bill dedicated to specific groups and bypassing traditional grant and contract competitions. Among the charity earmarks: $2-million for Helen Keller Services for the Blind, in New York; $2-million for the Native American Cultural Center, in Oklahoma City; $1.5-million for the Missouri Historical Society, in St. Louis; $100,000 for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, in Dearborn, Mich.; and $100,000 to Boys and Girls Harbor, which provides an array of programs for children in Harlem.

Many government watchdog groups criticize such earmarking because it usually takes place with little or no public scrutiny.

“Instead of worrying about the $200,000 for the Aviation Hall of Fame, why not address Social Security?” says David Williams, vice president for policy at Citizens Against Government Waste. “That’s why we’re so concerned about all these earmarks. It really distracts Congress from the important issues that are facing the nation as a whole.”

Nina Z. Ozlu, vice president of government and public affairs for Americans for the Arts, argues that in a time of tight budgets, such grants help nonprofit groups claim a larger slice of the pie. “These earmarks are not taking away from the competitive grant programs that have been established within the federal agencies,” she says. “Some of our members have found it a way to supplement the grant programs.” At least $50-million was earmarked for cultural organizations in the bill, she says.

Among the key budget proposals that affect nonprofit organizations:

Arts and humanities. Congress has approved $121.2-million for the National Endowment for the Arts, up from last year’s $121-million. The National Endowment for the Humanities would receive $138-million, up from $135.3-million last year. An estimated $34.5-million would go to the Office of Museum Services, up from $31.4-million last year.

Community service. The bill would cut spending by $9-million at the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the AmeriCorps national-service program. Money for AmeriCorps members would be reduced by $11-million, to $430.4-million, enough for 70,000 members — or 5,000 fewer than President Bush had requested.

Education. The Head Start preschool program would receive $6.8-billion, slightly more than last year. Advocates say the increase is not enough to keep pace with inflation. Funds for vocational and technical education would be cut by 0.8 percent, to about $1.3-billion, as would money for the Job Corps job-training program for youth, which would fall to $1.5-billion.

Housing. Neighborhood planning and development and other housing programs would be cut by an estimated $378-million in 2005. These programs include housing for the elderly, construction of low-cost housing, and housing for American Indians and the disabled. Housing groups worry that the cuts will mean they will have to turn away some of those who seek assistance. Says Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “The need is out there and it’s greater than ever.”

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program would receive almost $2.2-billion, up from $1.9-billion last year. But over the same period, fuel costs have increased 24 percent, meaning that the program will actually serve fewer families, according to Richard Kogan, a senior fellow with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington research group that studies the impact of public policy on low- and moderate-income Americans.

Science and technology. The budget for the National Science Foundation would be cut by $105-million, to $5.5-billion.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Opportunities Program, which seeks to bring information technology to people who are poor, who live in rural areas, or who are members of minority groups, would be eliminated. The program last year awarded grants totaling $14.4-million to 27 nonprofit organizations and state and local governments.