What the Budget Debate in Congress Means for Minnesota

Congress is considering deep cuts to the federal budget – cuts that would cut resources for people living on low-incomes. The U.S. House passed a budget bill that make cuts this year – including cuts to:

• Head Start,
• energy assistance to help pay heating bills,
• grants for low income students trying to go to college,
• training and job counseling services for workers needing to upgrade their skills,
• treatment for people struggling with mental illness or chemical dependency,
• the WIC nutritional program for pregnant women and their children;
• public housing repairs;
• affordable housing funds; and
• weatherizing homes.

In addition there are cuts to:

• K-12 education,
• law enforcement,
• food safety; and
• the Centers for Disease Control.

The $460 billion in non-military, non-defense spending cuts would mean a $234 million cut for these services in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Budget Project.

These cuts come only two months after Congress voted to keep the Bush-era tax cuts in place for the wealthiest Minnesotans and to cut the federal estate tax for the wealthiest households in the nation.

Congress is expected to approve a resolution that keeps the federal government operating through March 18th. After that, Congress and the Administration have to come to agreement on a budget for the last seven months of the year. If they cannot agree, the United States faces a government shut-down like the one experienced in 1994.

For more details go to the Minnesota Budget Project’s blog http://minnesotabudgetbites.org/2011/03/02/u-s-house-bill-would-mean-millions-lost-to-minnesota/, which provides clear, easy to read details and a link to more federal analysis.