The president's budget will not strengthen rural Nevada

By Sen. Harry Reid

For the Appeal

The president recently submitted his final budget to Congress and for the eighth straight year he has called for cuts to many of the programs that Nevada's rural communities count on. As your senior senator and Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, I am working to minimize the negative effects of the final Bush budget on rural Nevada.

Since 2001, President Bush and his allies in Congress have cut funding for state and local law enforcement programs by more than 50 percent. This year's budget proposal continues that trend by cutting funding by $1.6 billion, or 63 percent. In a rapidly growing state like Nevada, cutting funds for vital services like law enforcement is unacceptable. As more people move here we have an obligation to make it easier for police officers to do their job, not more difficult. That's why I will support justice assistance grant programs and work to increase funding for the COPS program so we can put more police officers on the streets to keep our communities safe.

President Bush also put rural health care on the chopping block. He actually wants to cut rural health care programs by $154 million, which is a cut of 86 percent from the current level, adjusted for inflation. He is also seeking to terminate rural outreach grants, rural hospital flexibility grants, the rural and community access to emergency devices program, and area health education centers, which provide health and health education services to rural areas.

Medicare and Medicaid will also be impacted by the president's budget. Medicare is a vital source of health coverage in rural Nevada and rural areas throughout the country with nearly one-fourth of Medicare's 44 million beneficiaries living in rural communities. One out of every six Americans relies on Medicaid to cover their health care costs. The president's proposal would not only cut the Medicaid budget by $18.2 billion, it would shift the costs to the states. In a state like Nevada where we have serious budget concerns, the passing of additional costs on to the people is a step in the wrong direction.

It seems that with every passing day, we are hard-pressed to open a newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing about the pending recession in America. Unfortunately, the president's budget doesn't do many favors for the economy in rural Nevada. The termination of 19 established Rural Development programs is proposed in the president's budget in an effort to offset a needed $500 million increase in rental assistance for rural multi-family housing tenants. Among the programs slated to be cut are: grants to expand broadband access across rural America; loans and grants to promote renewable energy utilization; and loans and grants to encourage rural business expansion and job creation.

Community Development Block Grants are used by Nevada's rural communities to fund projects that help revitalize neighborhoods, expand affordable housing and economic opportunities, and improve community facilities and services. Under the president's proposal, this funding would be slashed by more that $600 million from last year's budget. Having been born and raised in rural Nevada, and still living there today, I know first hand how important these funds are to maintaining the quality of life that can only be found in our rural communities. With that in mind, I intend on doing everything I can to ensure that these funds are not diminished.

If the president gets his way, funding for the grant and loan program for farmers, ranchers and rural small businessmen to buy renewable energy systems would be eliminated. At a time when high energy costs disproportionately impact farmers and ranchers through increased gasoline, diesel, irrigation and fertilizer prices, we should be focusing our efforts on making it easier and more affordable for them to generate on-farm renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind so they can reduce the cost of doing business.

These are just a few examples of how President Bush's budget will impact rural Nevada. And they serve as an indication of the work that this Congress has ahead of it in an effort to minimize the damage. But our work doesn't end there; we need to strengthen our rural communities. As a resident of rural Nevada myself, I am well aware of the challenges our small communities face and will continue to put my Senate leadership position to work to address those challenges every day.

• You can contact Sen.Harry Reid, D-Nev., through his Web site, http://reid.senate.gov/.