BUSH TO WISCONSIN: DROP DEAD!

OK, we're using hyperbole here. The President didn't really tell Wisconsin to drop dead. Still, our recycling of the famous New York Daily News headline from 1975 is based on facts.

The President's $3.1 trillion budget has the same effect on Wisconsin that President Ford's refusal to provide emergency aid had on New York City all those years ago. Wisconsin would lose millions from the federal funds we now receive and thousands of Wisconsin citizens would lose services they now depend on if Bush's budget were to become law.

According to a detailed analysis prepared this week by Sen. Herb Kohl's staff -- looking at the budget from a uniquely Wisconsin perspective -- the result could be devastating. We're not talking about the fallout from the $407 billion deficit, but rather specific program cuts that would affect specific Wisconsin citizens.

Not that Sen. Kohl, D-WI, thinks it's at all likely that Bush's budget will pass as presented. "Congress can and will do better at addressing the challenges Americans face on education, health care, job creation, crime prevention and high energy costs," he said.

Nonetheless, here are some of the ills Wisconsin would suffer if the President's budget became law:

--Community Development Block Grants create jobs, spur economic development and create affordable housing. The level of funding proposed would give Wisconsin $12 million less in FY2009 than in FY2008.

--Section 8, Housing Vouchers: Cuts of $740 million to the program nationwide would leave about 900 families in Wisconsin without housing assistance.

--Manufacturing Extension Partnership: Last year, MEP helped 435 Wisconsin manufacturers produce $135 million and saved or retained 855 jobs. In five years, Wisconsin MEP has helped 1,200 manufacturers achieve $839 million in economic impact, and created or saved 8,000 jobs. Bush, in his FY2009 budget, eliminates the MEP program.

--No Child Left Behind: President Bush proposes to fund this at $14.7 billion below the authorized levels; meanwhile, Title 1 funding for disadvantaged schools is funded at $10.7 billion below the authorized level. Wisconsin schools would get $198 million in Title 1 funds, rather than the $348 million authorized by Congress, meaning 41,407 Wisconsin children will be denied services.

--Rural DevelopmentPrograms: the budget would eliminate several USDA programs that provided rural communities in Wisconsin $8.7 million in 2007.

--Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides low-interest loans to help communities update wastewater systems. Under the President's FY20098 budget, Wisconsin would receive $3.6 million less than in FY2008.

--Aid for Wisconsin's College Students: The president's budget eliminates funding for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, which assist students with exceptional financial need. Wisconsin college students would lose $16.1 million in FY2009.

--Commodity Supplemental Food Program, provides food assistance to the low-income people, many of whom are elderly. Elimination of the program, proposed in Bush's budget, would affect 5,000 Wisconsin recipients.

--Medicare provides health benefits to 754,000 Wisconsin residents. The President's budget cuts $105 billion from Medicare over the next five years: the American Hospital Association projects that over the next five years hospital reimbursements would be cut by $1.3 billion in Wisconsin alone, and $89.8 billion nationally.

--Rural Hospitality Flexibility Grants provided Wisconsin $615,000 last year, to support 60 rural hospitals. Bush's budget eliminates the program.

--Community Oriented Policing Service, has put 1,353 cops on the beat in Wisconsin, and spent more than $113 million on law enforcement in the state since 1994, funding technology, bullet-proof vests, DNA initiatives, etc. In FY2009, the President proposes to eliminate the program.

--Amtrak: Nearly 600,000 passengers utilized the Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. The President's budget proposed $800 million for Amtrak, a $500 million reduction from FY2008, passing more costs onto the states.

--Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program gave eligible Wisconsin residents $69.7 million in FY2007. Under the FY2009 budget, the state would lose $10 million.

And so it goes ... that was about half of the items Kohl's staff came up with, in what they called an "instant analysis," issued just three days after the budget was released. The full report is HERE.