Lawmakers Blast Budget Cuts For NYC From Washington, Albany
BY JOHN TOSCANO

New York City has been taking it on the chin in the past several days, first as Governor Eliot Spitzer and then President George W. Bush dealt the city crushing blows in the budget proposals issued by the two officials.

"The president seems to have only two goals: fund the war, fund more tax cuts for the very wealthy, fumed U.S. Senator Charles Schumer after the president's budget came out with sharp cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to homeland security.

Meanwhile, from Albany, Mayor Michael Bloomberg zeroed in on a $328- million cut in annual state aid to New York City which Spitzer sliced from his preliminary budget.

Spitzer shot back, "Look at the net impact [of the budget], when you look at the net. I think the city of New York comes out extraordinarily well, as it should."

The mayor acknowledged "we are grateful" for the proposed increase in education spending, but, it has been maintained, the city sends so much money into the state economy, so it deserves more than it gets back.

But the bulk of the anger was reserved for the president's budget, a $2.9 trillion spending plan designed to wipe out a huge budget deficit in five years without raising taxes.

Almost immediately, the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress vowed to undo the president's cuts. Lawmakers from the city said they would fight to restore funding for city programs.

Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D- Queens/Brooklyn) declared: "The Bush budget makes it clear New York City is going to have to fight crime and terrorism on its own."

A spokesman for the mayor also complained about reductions in anti-terror funding.

An analysis of the Bush budget by Weiner's staff shows, he said, that instead of easing New York City's funding burden, the Bush administration has come up with a plan that would leave New York City $1.581 billion short across a number of key federal programs.

Included among Weiner's listings were the following:

+Limiting Medicaid reimbursements would reduce federal funding for the city's 11 public hospitals by $350 million a year.

+Medicare reimbursements to New York City healthcare facilities would drop by $56 million in five key areas.

+The city would get $136 million less for first responders than it did in 2005.

+Funding requested by the mayor for federal assistance for local law enforcement would be reduced by $11.5 million.

+For the seventh year in a row, Weiner said, the community policing program would suffer by not being able to hire 970 new police officers.

+Funding for disadvantaged students is $719 million less than promised by the president, and promised funding for the Disabilities Education Act is $159 million less. Meanwhile, the president's budget would allocate $624 billion for defense and $93.4 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

+$36.6 billion for medical care for U.S. vets, an 83 percent increase since 2001.

+Make his first-term income tax reductions permanent for high income wage earners, costing the U.S. treasury $1.6 trillion over 10 years.

+Environmental Protection budget cuts for the fourth straight year.