Brady says the Bush budget does not support the Hispanic community (3/04/04)

PHILADELPHIA --- Congressman Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.) says according to a recent report, President Bush's budget shows very clearly that he is not a friend to the Hispanic community. "The programs that would benefit Hispanic families are the programs the Bush administration is proposing to cut," said Brady whose district has a 20 percent Hispanic population.

The report, "The Impact of the Bush Budget on Hispanic Families," was recently released by The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). It outlines in detail the effect that the President's budget will have on Hispanics in the areas of education, economic opportunity and access to health care.

President Bush presented his budget to Congress on Monday, February 2. The budget essentially serves as an outline for the administration's priorities during the coming year and is a catalyst in moving domestic and international issues through the legislative process.

The report concludes that the President's budget:

• does nothing to promote job creation, employment training or new vocational opportunities for the 1.4 million Hispanic unemployed
• eliminates funding for the nation's only federally funded dropout prevention program; freezes bilingual education for the third year in a row, despite increased demand; provides only 3 percent in increased funding for Head Start, leaving this critical program direly under funded.
• transforms a large portion of Medicaid from an entitlement program to a block grant, leaving states to choose between eliminating program participants or program benefits.
• cuts Small Business Administration (SBA) funding. There are currently 1 million Hispanic-owned small businesses in America. The SBA provides valuable start-up loans and Micro Loans to Hispanic entrepreneurs.

To obtain a copy of the report, click on the following link: https://rodriguez.house.gov/chc/BushFY05Hispanics.pdf