Sen. Schumer scolds Trump budget cuts
Schumer discussed how Trump’s proposed budget would affect the Capital Region
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. >> U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, highlighted how the Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 slashes funding for a number of key programs that Capital Region communities and the middle class depend upon.
Schumer highlighted cuts to social security, food and nutritional assistance programs, economic development programs, manufacturing assistance programs and anti-opioid abuse programs as some of the most severe and damaging to residents of the Capital Region.
“The administration’s budget proposal is unfair and harmful to Upstate New York and it’s nothing short of a gut-punch to the Capital Region,” Schumer said in a news release. “From defunding the Community Development Block Grant program that has been a cornerstone of the ongoing revitalization throughout the Capital Region, to cutting vital antiopioid programs that combat the opioid epidemic, to slashing funding for social security, to diminishing essential food and nutritional assistance programs like SNAP and hacking into manufacturing-boosting programs, this budget would devastate many of the programs that Capital Region communities and their economies depend upon most.
“As Congress forms its budget bills, I will work in a bipartisan
fashion to do everything I can to avert these unjustifiable cuts, which would just hammer the middle class.”
Listed below are some of the most significant cuts proposed in the administration’s budget, including cuts to Capital Region programs.
The administration’s budget proposal includes the total elimination of the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), a cornerstone of affordable housing, economic development, and community revitalization throughout the Capital Region. These critical funds are distributed throughout all of Upstate New York to development projects and vital services to seniors and working families. CDBG is a signature program for Capital Region communities to create jobs, provide decent housing, and spur economic development and small business opportunities.
The CDBG program is also a crucial resource for communities dealing with foreclosed and vacant properties, one of the many ripple effects of the subprime mortgage crisis. Many of the municipalities in the Capital Region use CDBG funds to improve their streets, sidewalks, sewers, parks and public buildings.
The administration’s budget proposal would drastically cut SNAP benefits by $220 billion over ten years nationwide (about a 30 percent cut), affecting numerous families in need across New York State and thousands in the Capital Region, which receives approximately $50 million per year.
Additionally, this proposal would circumvent the recently signed bipartisan Farm Bill.
Estimates for Albany, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties appear below:
• Albany County could lose approximately $15,259,366 per year.
• Rensselaer County could lose approximately $6,951,722 per year.
• Saratoga County could lose approximately $5,602,089 per year.
The administration’s budget proposal slashes the budget of the Social Security Administration by 3.5 percent of its total funding. The administration has consistently put in low budget requests for SSA, despite the fact that the agency is facing a major case backlog for disability claims and long wait times at field offices. The Social Security Disability backlog in the United States is upwards of 1 million cases. At the Albany field office wait times averaged 40 minutes and phone answer rates were 72 percent in 2018, some of the worst averages in New York State.
The administration’s budget proposal slashes funding for the Edward Byrne JAG Program by $18.5 million from 2019 levels, requesting only $405.2 million for the program in 2020. Byrne JAG is the primary source of funding for state, local and tribal criminal justice initiatives such as; law enforcement, drug treatment and crime victim assistance.
New York State received a total of $5,340,398 in Byrne JAG funding in fiscal year 17, Troy and Albany are among the cities affected.
The administration’s budget proposal totally eliminates funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which is a vital resource in providing resources for before school, after school, and summer learning programs that work to improve student academic outcomes across the country. New York State stands to lose an estimated $91.1 million if this program is eliminated. This will impact approximately 91,166 students in New York. Capital Region programs could stand to lose $4,223,997 per year.
The Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program, a flexible funding source that can be used to fund school mental health, STEM programs, arts programs and technology initiatives, has also been eliminated in the administration’s budget. New York schools receive an estimated $30 million in funding from this grant program.