Nonprofit lobbyists will have their hands full in the new Congress. House Republican leaders have already said they want to bring a big chunk of federal spending this year back to 2008 levels.
But now a group of conservative Republicans says that’s not enough. The Republican Study Committee, a bloc of more than 165 members, unveiled a proposal Thursday that would end a range of federal programs that benefit charities and their clients.
Among its proposals:
* Eliminate AmeriCorps and other national-service programs.
* Abolish the Agency for International Development.
* Close the national endowments for the arts and humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
* End Department of Energy grants to help low-income people weatherize their homes.
The plan would also reclaim any untapped stimulus money and return it to the federal treasury.
The Republican committee says the cuts are needed to curtail the spiraling national debt. “Unless Washington acts soon to cut spending, massive tax hikes, economic stagnation, and national bankruptcy will rob our children of the opportunity to reach for the American Dream,” Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee’s chairman, said in a statement.
The proposed cuts, laid out in the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, are part of a plan that would cut $2.5-trillion in federal spending over 10 years. Republican House leaders have so far proposed less drastic cuts but will face pressure to stand by their promises to reduce the size of government.
5 Responses to Republicans Propose Big Cuts in National Service and International Aid
amiesf - January 21, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Jim Jones touts himself as the most conservative member in congress (on his website). Does he really hold that much sway to get these kinds of draconian cuts to well-established programs passed?
mariakent - January 21, 2011 at 3:29 pm
All I can say is this is so sad and misguided and does not represent what millions of Americans believe is important to the overall health of our nation. Eliminate all the tax breaks for those that do not need them…that would be a good place to start. Americorps, NPR, National Endowment for the Arts? What are these people thinking…or not!
sandbags - January 21, 2011 at 5:12 pm
conservatives just do things to people, never for them
norwin - January 26, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I would like to see the numbers on all these proposals: it will save us X by making these cuts; this represents X% of the gap we need t fill AND it will costs us how many times the original X to replace the services provided by these eliminated programs. Let’s see the numbers…in context. It’s a world gone crazy!
joe5991 - February 7, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Americorps volunteers work in poor communities, supplement staffing in tax-supported institutions like schools and child care centers, help reduce deliquency and advance the opportunity for thousands of college age people to serve their country outside of the military. In exchange, we provde them with poverty wages, a barely adequate health care program and up to $4,000 of debt forgiveness on their student loans. That sounds like the right place to start cutting – God bless the Republicans they really got the values-based thing down to a science.