House Cuts PBS, NCLB
Friday June 17, 2005
On a voice vote, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 25 percent cut in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting budget; the cut would be effective the next fiscal year, which begins in October. Additional infrastructure casualties make the cuts closer to 50%: the bill cuts $39 million for converting public TV stations to digital TV and $50 for satellite system maintenance/upgrades. Another $23 million was cut from Education Department-supervised "Ready to Learn" programs, which includes "Sesame Street" and "Clifford the Big Red Dog."
The cuts came as part of a larger $142.5 billion domestic spending bill, which still has to pass both the full House and Senate. For comparison, Iraq has cost about $200 billion to date; the Administration forecasts the US budget deficit this year at $427 billion; and the US trade deficit for the first quarter 2005 is almost $200 billion (an all time high). President Bush's education program, No Child Left Behind, got an $806 million cut (about 3 percent); the program has been criticized as an underfunded mandate.
See Boston Globe, NY Times, Canada.com
The cuts came as part of a larger $142.5 billion domestic spending bill, which still has to pass both the full House and Senate. For comparison, Iraq has cost about $200 billion to date; the Administration forecasts the US budget deficit this year at $427 billion; and the US trade deficit for the first quarter 2005 is almost $200 billion (an all time high). President Bush's education program, No Child Left Behind, got an $806 million cut (about 3 percent); the program has been criticized as an underfunded mandate.
See Boston Globe, NY Times, Canada.com