BUSH BUDGET GORES CALIFORNIA POOR PLAN CALLS FOR $3 BILLION IN SPENDING CUTS.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Services for California's women, children and poor families would face more than $3 billion in cuts over the next five years under President George W. Bush's budget proposal, a statewide report issued Thursday found.

From children's health insurance to public housing, Bush's fiscal 2008 budget proposal slashes funding and in some cases cuts spending entirely -- potentially shutting more than 10,000 California children out of the Head Start program and leaving thousands of others unable to access social services.

"It's certainly a tough budget," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project in Sacramento and author of the report.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, called it "a bad budget" for Californians.

"It's not a golden budget for the Golden State," Schiff said. "It doesn't reflect the needs of our state, and it doesn't reflect the values of our state."

The $2.9 trillion spending blueprint, which Bush released to the Democratic-controlled Congress earlier this month, includes billions more in military spending and moves to make permanent tax cuts that he enacted in his first term.

At the same time, the president proposed seeking $78 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings over the next five years, in part by increasing premiums for higher-income recipients and capping Medicaid payments to government providers.

Los Angeles County officials contend that the plan simply shifts the costs to local governments. The payment cap alone, officials predicted, could reduce Medicaid funding to Los Angeles County public hospitals by about $200 million annually.

Just how many of the president's spending proposals -- and the dire warnings of local groups -- will come to pass is questionable.

With Democrats now controlling the House and Senate, many declared Bush's budget dead on arrival when it landed on their desks.

But Ross said she remains concerned that Democrats, who have vowed fiscal responsibility, will not be able to address many of the funding issues.

"I think it will still be a tough fight because of the ongoing budget shortfalls in Washington," she said.

Of the Democratic leadership, she said, "I take them at their word when they say they are committed to fiscal responsibility, and that means there will be tough choices."

Other potential burdens for California in the budget, according to the report, include:

A loss of $471.8 million to vocational education programs in high school and community college career training programs.

A loss of $51.7 million in child-care subsidies for poor mothers moving off public assistance.

A combined loss of $863.4 million in eliminated grants for emergency housing and decreased funding for housing development and economic assistance.

Schiff said he is confident much of the money will be restored, and advocated not extending Bush's tax cuts.

"We can't do everything," he said of the budget. But, he added, "there's a lot we can do to be both fiscally responsible and reconfigure the budget so it reflects our values."

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com

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