Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

With stimulus money gone, more federal budget cuts will deepen states’ problems

  • by Deirdre Shesgreen
  • October 11, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

WASHINGTON–When Congress passed a stop-gap funding bill last week, it was not the usual plumped-up emergency spending bill to keep the government running.

It was, by Washington standards, a relatively slim funding measure-and one that sent a message to states: Not only is the federal stimulus spigot shut off, but other programs that provide aid to states may be cut as well.

greenstein, robert

CBPP’s Robert Greenstein: Making ‘states’ fiscal situations worse’

“I really think the federal government is going to move in the next year from providing fiscal relief to states … to [making] states’ fiscal situations worse,” Robert Greenstein, head of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), said at a forum this week on the fiscal choices facing policymakers.

Such a reversal could hit Connecticut particularly hard, as the next governor and state legislature grapple with a projected $3.3 billion budget deficit.

“The problem is bad enough by just taking away the extra [federal stimulus] money we had,” said Alan Calandro, director of the state Office of Fiscal Analysis. “What other cuts are we going to see?… Everybody is worried about that.”

In the short-term, after the Nov. 2 elections Congress will take up a dozen unfinished appropriations bills for fiscal year 2011. Even with Democrats still in charge for the lame-duck session, there will be no appetite for fat domestic spending bills.

President Barack Obama has called for a freeze in most non-discretionary spending. And this summer, House Democrats advanced a budget blueprint calling for some significant cuts, with the details still to be decided.

“That’s going to have an effect on programs across the board,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, from funding for Head Start to scientific research. “States are still in very difficult situations here, so what’s being talked about here will only compound that,” said DeLauro, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee.

Not everyone agrees that Congress is on the cusp of a new era of federal restraint.

Alan Viard, a federal budget expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, said the pressure for at least small increases in federal spending will be “quite substantial,” particularly from states struggling to close massive budget gaps.

Connecticut is hardly the only state in fiscal trouble. Already, at least 39 states are projecting budget deficits, to the tune of a combined $112 billion. And Viard said it remains to be seen whether lawmakers, despite their current political rhetoric, will actually resist responding to financial pleas from back home.

Even if lawmakers opt for a freeze on spending instead of cuts, that means no adjustments for inflation and no accounting for the increased demand for government services in this economically difficult climate. “That’s a tough measure right there” for states already in a fiscal hole, said Nicholas Johnson, director of the state fiscal project for the CBPP.

And when a new Congress is sworn in come January, the pressure on lawmakers to cut federal spending is likely to ramp up, no matter which party is in charge. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is scheduled to issue recommendations for balancing the federal budget by Dec. 1, setting the scene for Congress’s return to tackle spending questions.

Already, some Democrats, including Reps. Jim Himes and Chris Murphy, from Connecticut’s 4th and 5th districts respectively, have pushed for a 1 percent cut in federal spending as a starting point. Republicans, meanwhile, have called for far deeper rescissions. In their “Pledge to America,” the House GOP vows to slice $100 billion from the federal budget next year.

Aid to the states now makes up 20 percent of domestic discretionary spending. That covers everything from federal assistance for K-12 education programs to transportation funding to maternal and child health grants.

Several budget experts said that while Democrats will likely spare key programs, such as education and Medicaid, they could trim or eliminate a raft of smaller state-aid initiatives.

In June, for example, the Obama Administration directed all federal agencies to develop budget plans for next year that would cut at least 5 percent from their 2011 spending requests. The list of “vulnerable” programs includes many block grants that states particularly like because of their flexibility, said Marcia Howard, executive director of the Federal Funds Information for States, a nonpartisan research group.

Among those on the FFIS’s endangered list: grants for community policing, for elderly and disabled housing, for low-energy heating assistance, and for state and local anti-bioterrorism initiatives.

If Republicans gain control of the House or the Senate, that list would undoubtedly broaden. The GOP’s Pledge does not detail what cuts Republicans would make to shrink the federal budget by $100 billion, but it could hit everything from education to transportation spending.

Any significant cuts would “probably dramatically affect Connecticut, more than other states,” said state Rep. Vincent Candelora, of North Branford, the ranking Republican on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

He said Connecticut’s decision to punt on tough budget decisions last year, by relying on one-time fixes like the federal stimulus dollars and borrowing money, means the legislature starts its next budget cycle without many fall-back options.

“We don’t have any pots of money around any longer to fill new holes,” he said. “So to the extent any programs are reduced at the federal level, those reductions will have to be passed on to the consumers of those programs.”

State Rep. John Geragosian, D-New Britain, co-chairman of the Appropriations Committee, predicted that the state’s budget outlook would improve over the next few months. But he agreed that fewer federal dollars would hurt Connecticut, so he’s hoping the Democrats keep control of Congress to keep that potential to a minimum.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deirdre Shesgreen

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Vaccinations in nursing homes top 64,000; COVID cases are dropping rapidly among residents
by Dave Altimari

There were 238 COVID infections reported in nursing homes last week, down from 483 a few weeks ago.

Advocates call on state to improve response to vulnerable students
by Adria Watson

State child advocate Sarah Eagan and attorney Martha Stone want the state to do more for these students during COVID.

CT budget leaders want to use massive savings to expand COVID-19 relief
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration expects to spend about $630 million less than legislators authorized.

The game is changing. Chris Murphy says he’s ready to play.
by Mark Pazniokas

The question for Sen. Chris Murphy no longer is where might he go next, but what can he do now.

Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Opinion A just stimulus package is a start toward true racial inclusion
by Carlton L Highsmith

For centuries Blacks have been denied full participation in the American Dream. But for the sake of our collective progress, as we recover from the crippling economic effects of COVID-19, our country has a mandate to acknowledge its history of systematic institutionalized exclusionary practices and not repeat them.

Opinion Hamden taxpayers are left in the dark
by Lauren Garrett

“A budget is a moral document.” This phrase is often heard during budget season from both sides of the aisle advocating for their personal values. The municipal operating budget is the cost of running a town which includes paying for employees, schools, and other services. Asking residents to pay property taxes requires a public trust.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO