NAICU Washington Update

Republicans Release “Pledge to America”

October 01, 2010

As the campaign season heats up, congressional Republicans are receiving considerable attention for their "Pledge to America" proposal. The six-point plan does not mention education, but makes specific proposals to shrink the size of federal spending that would put education programs in the bull’s eye.

The pledge, released last month, calls for cutting spending by $100 billion to help balance the federal budget. The plan also proposes maintaining the tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003, to help Americans keep more of their income. While $100 billion sounds like a lot of money, it is only a fraction of the total $3.8 trillion federal spending budget.

However, the proposal says spending for "seniors, veterans, and our troops" will be protected. In doing the math, the bipartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports this means the $100 billion in cuts would have to come from a relatively small pot of $380 billion in current federal spending. Of this $380 billion, $78 billion is in education.

Additional information about the "Pledge to America" can be found on the congressional Republican’s website.

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