May 7, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
President Obama’s proposed 2010 federal budget will call on Congress to eliminate or reduce spending on 121 current programs, which would save nearly $17-billion, according to administration officials.
The budget proposal will seek the elimination of Even Start, a $66-million program that provides early childhood education and adult literacy services, often through community organizations. The program is run by the U.S. Department of Education.
“Obviously, the president and the administration feel very strongly that early childhood education, done in a high-quality way, is crucially important,” an administration official said. “However, a variety of studies of Even Start have suggested that that program does not work well,” the official said. “So we are proposing that Even Start be eliminated even while we are investing in other programs that do work, including Early Head Start and Head Start.”
The official added: “That’s a general theme. We’re trying to cut back on the things that don’t work, invest more in the things that do.”
The Obama budget will also seek to save $1-million by eliminating the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, an independent federal agency that was established to “encourage and support research, study, and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind.” Donations to the agency are tax deductible.
The Obama administration official said only 20 percent of the agency’s million-dollar annual appropriation is paid out in fellowships and awards. “That’s obviously inefficient and we are proposing that that appropriation be eliminated,” the official said.
