SCHUMER ANALYSIS: THE ADMINISTRATION’S BUDGET PROPOSAL IS A GUT-PUNCH TO UPSTATE NEW YORK, SLASHING AND ELIMINATING PROGRAMS VITAL TO MIDDLE CLASS; SENATOR HIGHLIGHTS MOST SEVERE AND ALARMING PROPOSED CUTS

Budget Proposal’s Cuts Are Drastic And Wide-Ranging – From Slashing Medicare & Medicaid, To Cutting Crop Insurance For Farmers, To Eliminating Rural Airport Aid, To Slashing Social Security Funding, To Cutting CDBG/Economic Development Aid Crucial To All Upstate Cities

Schumer To Administration: Budget Proposal Takes An Ax To The Middle Class, Farmers, Students And Seniors

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today highlighted how the administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 slashes funding for a number of key programs that Upstate New York communities and the middle class depend upon. Schumer highlighted cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, rural hospitals, crop insurance for farmers, social security, public and private transportation infrastructure, and economic development programs as some of the most severe and damaging to residents of Upstate New York.

“The administration's budget proposal is unfair and harmful, and nothing short of a gut-punch to Upstate New York. From slashing the Essential Air Service program for rural airports, to cutting crop insurance for our farmers, to cutting cancer research, to defunding the Community Development Block Grant program, to cutting vital funding for rural hospitals, this budget would devastate many of the programs that Upstate 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,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.

Listed below are some of the most significant cuts proposed in the administration’s budget, including cuts to New York programs.

CDBG – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION:

•  Community Development Block Grants: 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. These vital 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 Upstate 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.

Upstate CDBG Allocations 

• Public Housing Capital Fund: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates all funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund, which received $2.775 billion in FY 19. This funding is necessary and much-needed for public housing agencies to make repairs to New York’s public housing stock. The impact of zeroing out this program would be devastating to the nation’s public housing agencies who are currently facing a capital needs backlog of over $50 billion.

• HOME Investment Partnerships: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates the HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME), which received $1.25 billion in FY 19. The HOME program is a primary source of funding for states and localities to purchase and rehabilitate affordable housing. This funding is essential to developing affordable housing units in low- to moderate- income communities. The elimination of the HOME program will only make it harder for families to find a home, considering the shrinking supply of affordable housing.

Upstate HOME Allocations

• USDA Rural Housing Programs: The administration’s budget includes drastic cuts to the USDA Rural Housing program. The budget eliminates funding for the Section 502 Single Family Direct loans, the Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing grants and loans, the Section 523 Mutual and Self-Help Housing program, the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization demonstration, and the Section 504 Rural Housing Assistance grants and loans.  The elimination of these programs would have a long-lasting and devastating impact on New York’s rural communities.

AGRICULTURE:

• Crop Insurance: The administration’s budget proposal would cut crop insurance by $26 billion. Crop insurance plays a critical role in Upstate’s agricultural economy, in part due to severe weather experienced by the state in recent years. Farmers will inevitably be more hesitant to invest in New York State without the assurance that their crops will be insured and protected in the face of severe weather, hindering the growth of numerous Upstate agricultural sectors.

• Farm Bill: The administration’s budget proposal includes $267 billion in cuts to farm bill programs, a 31% cut to the farm bill, which passed by a historic bipartisan vote last year. These cuts will hurt USDA’s ability to implement the farm bill and put the rural economy at risk.  For example, Schumer fought tirelessly to secure the highest-ever total of $4 million for the Acer Access and Development Program, which provides opportunities for investment and research in maple syrup, in this year’s Farm Bill to boost the North Country’s economy. Funding for this program, and many more, would be jeopardized by the administration’s FY 20 budget proposal.

SOCIAL SECURITY

• Social Security Administration: The administration’s budget proposal slashes the budget of the Social Security Administration by 3.5% 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. The annual average hearings processing time for a disability claim in New York was 694 days in FY 2018. An average of over 12,700 people visit New York’s Social Security field offices each day and visitors without an appointment wait in line for an average of 30 minutes for basic services.

HEALTH CARE, CANCER RESEARCH & HOSPITAL CUTS

• Medicaid and Individual Insurance Markets: The administration’s budget proposal slashes Medicaid funding by $1.5 trillion, which covers more than 6.5 million New Yorkers including the elderly, children, people with disabilities and many more. It also proposes a massive cut to the tax credits individuals use to buy insurance on the individual exchanges, which hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers use to buy insurance. These cuts would result in more than 2 million New Yorkers losing health insurance, and many more seeing their benefits cut and their health care costs increase.

• Major Cuts to Hospitals: The administration’s budget proposal suggests $350 billion in Medicare cuts to hospitals, which would be devastating to Upstate New York communities across the board. The first is a nearly $50 billion cut to Graduate Medical Education funding, which allows teaching hospitals to pay for resident physicians and train new doctors. New York trains one in every seven medical residents in the country, providing doctors for rural areas Upstate and all across the country. This cut would exacerbate serious physician shortage problems that New York already faces, and be a major cut to hospitals. A recent survey of New York hospitals found that 71 percent of respondents said their current primary care capacity is insufficient to meet current patient needs. Other proposals include major cuts to hospitals that serve a high number of low-income patients and seniors. These hospitals already operate on razor thin margins and are often the only hospital in a community. The cuts to these hospitals would be crippling and threaten access to care for New York communities across the state. 

• Crippling Cuts to National Institutes of Health, Threatens New York’s Status as a Leading State for Medical Research: The administration’s budget proposal cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 12 percent. The NIH provides billions of dollars of grants for NY universities and research centers. A 12 percent cut to NIH funding in NY would mean a $275 million cut to New York institutions, including the SUNY universities, Roswell Park in Buffalo, Cornell University, the University of Rochester and more.

New York NIH Cut Summary

• A 12% cut of NIH – across the board – would result in a loss of $315,584,000 in funding for the state of New York
• In 2018, NIH grants supported 32,707 jobs in New York, many of which could be lost if the NIH cuts are implemented.
• In 2018, NIH supported $6.508 billion of economic activity in New York.

TRANSPORTATION/INFRASTRUCTURE

• Essential Air Service: The administration’s budget proposal significantly cuts discretionary spending, which is over half of the total funding, for Essential Air Service. This program was created to continue air service to communities that had received federally mandated air service prior to deregulation of commercial aviation in 1978.  It currently provides subsidies to air carriers serving small communities that meet certain criteria including Watertown, Ogdensburg, Massena, Plattsburgh, and Saranac Lake.

Upstate EAS Recipients

• Army Corps of Engineers: The administration’s budget proposal cuts the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) total budget by 31%. USACE projects are often crucial projects to an area and sometimes can have life risk components. Projects include dredging, dams, canals, and crucial flood mitigation infrastructure among other things.

Potential USACE Upstate Projects Jeopardized

• St. Lawrence Seaway: The administration’s proposed budget cuts the Seaway’s budget to $28 million from FY 19’s total of $36 million. It’s a 22% cut. The Seaway is critical to commerce and jobs along the Great Lakes, linking the region with global markets. The Seaway itself employees over 100 people in the North Country. The commerce through the Seaway sustains over 227,000 jobs in the United States and Canada.

• Amtrak: The administration’s budget proposal includes dangerous cuts to Amtrak, slashing the funding almost in half from $1.85 billion in FY 19 to $936 million for the National Network and the NEC. This comes at a time when funding investment is critical to repair and modernize our aging transit infrastructure. The lack of adequate investment in Amtrak has already caused a $38 billion state-of-good-repair backlog on the NEC that will continue to grow without investment.  The Northeast Corridor (NEC), which includes 2,200 trains daily whose commuters contribute $50 billion to the national economy, was cut down to $325.5 million from $650 million. The cuts to the National Network potentially jeopardize critical Upstate routes like the Lakeshore Limited, Adirondack, Maple Leaf, and Ethan Allen. The NEC cuts limit Amtrak’s ability to invest in key upgrades to Penn Station and the NEC that will unlock Metro-North access to Penn Station.

• FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Grants: The administration’s budget proposal totally eliminates funding for the federal AIP. Airports rely on AIP grants to fund critical construction of runways, airfield lighting and signage, planning and environmental studies, among other things. In FY 19, Congress appropriated an additional $500 million for the program. The administration’s budget would zero out this additional funding.

Notable Upstate AIP Discretionary Funding Recipients

LAW ENFORCEMENT & OPIOID ABUSE PREVENTION

• Edward Byrne JAG Program: 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 relies on these funds to implement programs that reduce firearm related homicides and shootings, expand access to public defenders, and acquisition of vital equipment for law enforcement personnel.

• New York State received a total of $1,213,980 in Byrne JAG funding in FY 18 to the following cities and counties: Syracuse, Schenectady County, Rochester, Orange County, Village of Spring Valley, Suffolk County, Utica, Village of Freeport, Binghamton, Nassau, Buffalo, Watertown, Jamestown City, Yonkers, Village of Hempstead, Niagara Falls, and Dutchess County.
• New York State received a total of $5,340,398 in Byrne JAG funding in FY 17 to the following cities and counties: Syracuse, Schenectady County, Rochester, Orange County, Suffolk County, Troy, Utica, Village of Freeport, Albany, Binghamton, Nassau County, Buffalo, Watertown, Jamestown, Yonkers, Village of Hempstead, Niagara Falls, and NYC.

• Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program: The administration’s budget proposal reduces funding for the COPS Hiring Program by $129 million from 2019 levels, requesting only $99 million for the program in 2020. Law enforcement agencies nationwide and in NYS depend on this funding to hire police officers in addition to training and developing innovative policing strategies.

• FY 17 the Johnson City Police Department and the Village of Massena both received $250,000
• FY 16 Cortland Police Department received $125,000 and Middletown Police Department received $500,000
• FY 15 Poughkeepsie Police Department received $$625,000

• Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP): The administration’s budget proposal slashes COAP by $12 million from FY 19 levels, requesting only $145 million in 2020. COAP prevents the misuse of controlled substances in addition to supporting the implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs. Reducing the federal funding available to this program will mean that communities across New York State will have to do more with less as they grapple with the ongoing opioid epidemic.  

• New York received $4,986,190 in COAP funding for FY 18 across the following sites: Dutchess County, Erie County, Orangetown
•  New York received $699,999 in COAP funding for FY 17 across the following sites: Seneca Nation of Indians and Erie County

ANTI-HUNGER & SENIOR HEATING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:

• LIHEAP: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP helps households with low incomes pay their winter heating bills or summer cooling bills. More than 71% of LIHEAP recipients have at least one household member who is a child under the age of six, a senior, or an individual with a disability. In Fiscal Year 2014, New York received $368 million in LIHEAP funding, and served a total of 1.2 million households. During extreme weather conditions, low-income households should not have to choose between heating or cooling their homes and buying food for their families.

• SNAP 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 nationwide and across New York State.  Additionally, this proposal would circumvent the recently signed bipartisan Farm Bill.

County by county SNAP approximations appear below:.

Capital Region:

• Albany County could lose approximately $15,259,366 per year.
• Columbia County could lose approximately $2,579,385 per year.
• Fulton County could lose approximately $3,425,882 per year.
• Greene County could lose approximately $2,271,366 per year.
• Montgomery County could lose approximately $3,898,213 per year.
• Rensselaer County could lose approximately $6,951,722 per year.
• Saratoga County could lose approximately $5,602,089 per year.
• Schenectady County could lose approximately $9,803,786 per year.
• Schoharie County could lose approximately $1,486,645 per year.

Central New York:

• Cayuga County could lose approximately $4,281,610 per year.
• Cortland County could lose approximately $2,653,859 per year.
• Lewis County could lose approximately $1,306,699 per year.
• Madison County could lose approximately $3,257,536 per year.
• Oneida County could lose approximately $17,985,650 per year.
• Onondaga County could lose approximately $31,214,066 per year.
• Oswego County could lose approximately $8,121,373 per year.

Rochester Finger Lakers:

• Genesee County could lose approximately $2,194,653 per year.
• Livingston County could lose approximately $2,840,965 per year.
• Monroe County could lose approximately $55,754,071 per year.
• Ontario County could lose approximately $3,828,708 per year.
• Orleans County could lose approximately $2,485,148 per year.
• Seneca County could lose approximately $1,319,889 per year.
• Wayne County could lose approximately $3,676,708 per year.
• Wyoming County could lose approximately $988,894 per year.
• Yates County could lose approximately $986,983 per year. 

Western New York:

• Cattaraugus County could lose approximately $4,768,495 per year.
• Chautauqua County could lose approximately $10,902,280 per year.
• Erie County could lose approximately $70,104,827 per year.
• Niagara County could lose approximately $13,687,315 per year.

Southern Tier:

• Allegany County could lose approximately $2,252,902 per year.
• Broome County could lose approximately $13,642,650 per year.
• Chemung County could lose approximately $6,376,860 per year.
• Chenango County could lose approximately $2,679,282 per year.
• Delaware County could lose approximately $2,205,587 per year.
• Otsego County could lose approximately $2,431,062 per year.
• Schuyler County could lose approximately $912,348 per year.
• Steuben County could lose approximately $4,500,983 per year.
• Tioga County could lose approximately $2,122,643 per year.
• Tompkins County could lose approximately $3533897 per year.

Hudson Valley:

• Dutchess County could lose approximately $8,206,434 per year.
• Orange County could lose approximately $18,430,095 per year.
• Putnam County could lose approximately $1,041,300 per year.
• Rockland County could lose approximately $19,312,110 per year.
• Sullivan County could lose approximately $5,979,042 per year if.
• Ulster County could lose approximately $8,400,391 per year.
• Westchester County could lose approximately $38,078,449 per year.

North Country:

• Clinton County could lose approximately $4,600,404 per year.
• Essex County could lose approximately $1,470,917 per year.
• Franklin County could lose approximately $3,168,929 per year.
• Hamilton County could lose approximately $159,325 per year.
• Herkimer County could lose approximately $3,774,197 per year.
• Jefferson County could lose approximately $6,631,664 per year.
• St. Lawrence County could lose approximately $6,339,640 per year.
• Warren County could lose approximately $2,803,734 per year. 

CONSERVATION:

• National Heritage Areas: The administration’s budget proposal slashes funding for National Heritage Areas by $20 million over FY 19 levels. This proposed funding cut would hurt New York State’s four National Heritage Areas including the Erie Canalway National Heritage Area, the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River National Heritage Area, the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area and the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in a variety of different ways. This cut would not only affect their abilities to protect important historical, cultural, and natural resources, but it would also affect visitor experiences like educational programming and improved visitor infrastructure

• Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF):  The administration’s budget proposal reduces funding for the LWCF by $427 million over FY 19 levels, requesting only $8 million for federal land acquisition. This proposed funding cut drastically reduces important resources used to purchase federal lands in order to conserve them for public use.  In the FY 19 omnibus, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the nation’s premier conservation program, was funded at $435 million. This cut would greatly inhibit the government’s ability to conserve public lands and invest in conservation throughout New York and nationwide. New York State, in particular, has received nearly $336 million throughout the history of the LWCF

EDUCATION

• Impact Aid Programs: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates all funding for Impact Aid programs, which provide payment to local education agencies affected by federal activity on sites such as military bases, VA hospitals, and national parks. For NY this means Highland Falls District and Hyde Park Central School District will be impacted. NY stands to lose about $23.3 million in critical funding. Highland Falls could lose up to $21.7, million while Hyde Park could lose close to $1.6 million due to these cuts.

• 21^st Century Community Learning Centers:  The administration’s budget proposal totally eliminates funding for the 21^st 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.

Below is a breakdown of how much 21^st Century Community Learning Centers funding each Upstate region stands to lose per year.

• Capital Region programs could stand to lose $4,223,997 per year.
• Hudson Valley programs could stand to lose $5,537,935 per year.
• Western New York programs could stand to lose $11,926,071 per year.
• Central New York programs could stand to lose $6,372,667 per year.
• Rochester-Finger Lakes programs could stand to lose $7,393,615 per year.
• Southern Tier programs could stand to lose $4,093,113 per year.

• Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program: 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. 695 of 733 New York School Districts received SSAEG grants in 2018.

• Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants Program: The administration’s budget proposes the elimination of the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, which provides formula grants to states and school districts to support the recruitment, retention, and development of effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders. New York received about $166 million in FY 18 from this grant program. 699 of 733 New York School Districts received SEIS grants in 2018.

• The Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant Program: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates all funding for the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant Program, which provides grant funding to help low-income undergraduate students finance the costs of college. Qualified students are eligible for up to $4,000 a year. New York students receive $53.3 million in funding from this grant to assist with the cost of college.

• Pell Grants: The administration’s budget proposal cancels all carryover funding for the Pell Grant program, which provides postsecondary education funding to low- and moderate- income undergraduate students. There is currently $2 billion in carryover funding that could be used to expand the program to more low-income students, however, the budget proposal eliminates this crucial funding. Students in New York receive $1.9 billion in Federal Pell Grants.

• Public Student Loan Forgiveness: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates all funding for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program, which allows teachers, firefighters, public defenders and other non-profit and public service employees to have their student loans forgiven after 120 monthly, on time payments.

SCIENCE

• WFIRST: The administration once again proposed completely defunding the important WFIRST NASA telescope project in their FY 20 budget.  In FY 19 after the administration first proposed defunding the program, Senator Schumer pushed for robust funding and was able to secure $312.2 million for the project.  WFIRST, which is NASA’s next flagship telescope, was ranked as the highest scientific priority astrophysics mission by the National Academy of Science in 2010 and is produced in part by Harris in Rochester, NY supporting 160 local jobs. 

• National Science Foundation: The administration’s FY 20 budget proposes severely cutting funding for NSF grants nationwide. This attack on science research would greatly impact research nationwide, including in New York State.  According to NSF, in FY 2018, NSF provided 1,473 awards totaling approximately $514 million to 143 institutions in New York State.

• NASA STEM Education: The administration’s FY 20 budget proposes eliminating funding for NASA STEM Education Account.  This would eliminate funding for important projects including NY Space Grant, which is a consortium of universities and businesses that promote STEM education, and careers in the aerospace industry.  Every state has a Space Grant program. 

• NASA Earth Science: The administration’s FY 20 budget proposes cutting NASA Earth Science by over $150 million. This would directly attack and impact climate science research nationwide.

ENVIRONMENT

• EPA Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds: The administration’s budget proposal cuts funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds (SRFs) by $874 million. The SRFs provide communities with low-cost financing for water and sewer infrastructure projects. In FY 2018, New York received $45 million from the Drinking Water SRF and $179 million from the Clean Water SRF.

• Superfund: The administration’s budget proposal cuts funding for the Hazardous Substance Superfund program by more than $100 million. Under the Superfund program, EPA is authorized to clean up contaminated sites and to make the polluters responsible financially-liable for cleanup costs in order to protect communities from harmful chemicals and other hazardous substances. A list of New York Superfund sites is available here.

• Long Island Sound: The administration’s budget proposal eliminates funding for the EPA’s Long Island Sound program. The program supports the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Long Island Sound National Estuary Program by encouraging Long Island Sound states and local entities to continue to make progress in restoring the Sound from within core water programs.

• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: The administration’s budget proposal cuts the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) by $270 million. The GLRI funds projects to address threats to the Great Lakes and accelerate progress toward long-term goals, like making the water safe for drinking and recreation, eliminating harmful algal blooms, and controlling invasive species.

• DOE Office of Science: The administration’s budget proposal cuts the Department of Energy’s Office of Science by more than $1 billion. The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting energy scientific research and the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. The Office of Science supports research at nearly 300 universities around the country and at ten National Labs, including Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island.

TAX AND TRADE

• Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA): The administration’s budget proposal includes a massive $849 million cut to the TAA, which retrains workers who have lost their jobs from foreign competition. Recent estimates show that over 3,000 workers in New York depend on TAA benefits, including two years of tuition-free training, income support while training, job search allowances and wage supplements for older workers. Those who received TAA had an 80% employment rate in New York in 2017. Workers from New York companies including New Era, Kodak, Xerox and GE have all received TAA certification in the past year.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

• Manufacturing Extension Program: Despite the administration’s promise to help struggling manufacturers, their FY 20 budget proposal eliminates federal funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, a public-private partnership that helps small struggling manufacturers develop innovation strategies to grow and hire new employees. Last year, MEP Centers interacted with 27,707 manufacturers, leading to $16.0 billion in sales, $1.7 billion in cost savings, $4.0 billion in new client investments, and helped create or retain more than 122,000 jobs. This program has centers in all 50 states dedicated to serving small and medium-sized manufacturers. There are 39 New York success stories.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES:

• Federal Employees: Upstate New York is home to over 49,000 federal employees, many of whom had to work for no pay during the 35-day government shutdown. If the administration’s budget were to become law it would deprive federal employees of the resources they need to do their jobs, slash their retirement benefits and reduce their take-home pay.

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