A Voice of Reason Around Federal Funding

There is a great deal of concern in the arts and education field, focusing for the moment  the devastating cuts to arts education programs at the United States Department of Education. In the recent continuing resolution, arts education programs, as well as a host of other eduction programs were zeroed out. There’s still a chance however, as some of the funding could be restored as the next, longer term continuing resolution (from mid-March through the end of September) is being negotiated, with the Senate calling for restoration of some but not all of the funding cut last week.

For all of those concerned about draconian cuts to arts education programs at the United States Department of Education, including everyone who has been contacting elected officials and their staff, I would like to point out something that came across my desk this morning, from Politico Playbook:

SCHUMER TO CALL FOR “RESET” of BUDGET DEBATE – wants to
include tax reform in budget deal — Speech at 9:15 a.m., Center for
American Progress – From release: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the #3
Senate Dem., “will point to the lessons of the 1990s when President
Clinton balanced the budget with a plan that didn’t just cut domestic
discretionary spending, but also tackled mandatory spending and reformed
the tax code. The senator will say that a similar ‘all of the above’
strategy is needed in any deal struck on a continuing resolution for the
rest of this fiscal year. Schumer will criticize House Republicans’
current approach for focusing narrowly on domestic discretionary
spending. He will say that approach not only is harmful to economic
growth, but also does not meaningfully reduce the deficit. Instead,
Schumer will call for the ongoing negotiations led by the White House to
‘broaden the playing field’ when it comes to deficit reduction and
include mandatory spending cuts and tax code reforms as part of any
final compromise.”