The Daily Background

Earlier today, I noted that the Administration wants very much to cut veterans health care. I also noted that was not cool, especially with their pattern of cutting health care to the poor (Medicaid), and cutting money for education, among other things.

Today’s Washington Post reports that those aren’t the only programs the White House wants to cut. Page A13:

President Bush, who embraced AmeriCorps as part of his “compassionate conservative” agenda in 2001, now wants to shut down a part of the national service program that his administration has deemed “ineffective.”

Beginning next year, the White House would reduce funding for the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps from $27 million to $5 million with the goal of closing it down, according to the president’s budget. About 81 full-time staff members would lose their jobs.

Created by President Bill Clinton in 1993 as a kind of domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps is a network of three federal programs devoted to youth service in areas such as education, health, public safety and the environment. Participants in all three become eligible for education grants of $4,725 to pay for college or to repay student loans.

For it before he was against it, yeah yeah yeah. Full article.

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