Warner proposes $806 million in federal program cuts

WASHINGTON

Sen. Mark Warner may think it's a no-brainer to cut $806 million worth of federal programs, but, anticipating resistance, he plans to continue proposing the cuts until they are enacted.

On Wednesday, Warner filed an amendment that would eliminate 17 programs in six federal agencies deemed outdated, ineffective or duplicative in multiple reports from the Office of Management and Budget.

He based his proposal on recommendations the OMB submitted under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said Kevin Hall, a spokesman.

Comparing the lists, submitted annually, Warner's office compiled a list of 18 cuts recommended under both presidents in the past three years.

"It represents a bipartisan consensus," Hall said.

Warner did not include one of the 18 programs, a $200 million safe and drug-free school grant, because he didn't have enough information about its purpose, Hall said.

The chairman of the Senate budget committee's task force on government performance first suggested the cuts in April as part of a budget resolution that would have been used as a blueprint in Congress to determine annual spending.

It initially had bipartisan support in committee, Hall said, but during a voice vote, objections were recorded.

In an April 23 Congressional Quarterly story, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said some of the targeted programs help his constituents and that just because two administrations suggested striking a program does not necessarily mean it's a good idea.

"There are 100 people that serve in the Senate that feel strongly about representing the programs in their states," Hall said. "Perhaps this indicates it's going to be a tough battle."

Among the programs recommended for elimination are grants in agriculture and housing and urban development that duplicate better-run grant programs where applications are filtered through local governments.

He also recommended cutting a public broadcasting grant for the digital television conversion completed last year and about $45 million for "unrequested" health construction projects in Alaska and Mississippi, Hall said.

Warner filed the amendment to legislation providing tax relief to businesses and extending unemployment benefits to individuals, a news release said.

Lauren King, (757) 446-2309, lauren.king@pilotonline.com