Read Crewof42, the blog on black members of the 112th Congress
The cost of bombing Libya. The U.S. operation in Libya could cost the U.S. between $400 million and $800 million, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Really? So, you guessed it, we could be paying for so many of the things President Obama and the House GOP has proposed to cut. The President is proposing a cut in his budget of $300 million from Community Development Block Grants. The operation in Libya is likely to cost more than that. President Obama is proposing to cut $100 billion cut in Pell Grants over 10 years. That could easily be paid for. The numbers are still coming in. One thing is for sure: The total will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
As Rep. Barbara Lee likes to say, “it’s about priorities.” That is, when it comes to budget cuts, it’s about what you think is vital and important and what you believe can fall by the waste side. University of Virginia Prof. Larry Sabato tweeted on the day the U.S. bombed Libya that “100 cruise missiles at $1 million dollars each = $110 million. Just baseline expense.”
Community Block Grants, $300 million for fiscal year FY2012
Already estimates are coming in that the cost of the Libya operation could be over $1 billion dollars. The Cost of War in Afghanistan $377,025,390,632. Cost of War in Iraq $773,698,442,965. Total Cost of Wars Since 2001 $1,150,723,833,597. National Journal reports that the Pentagon is asking for $708.3 billion for this year, including another $159.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now let’s think about those numbers and let’s go over some of the proposed cuts in President Obama budget and the cuts the House GOP is proposing. Remember what you hear Speaker John “we’re broke” Boehner says about his support of the Libya operation — if he does support it…
1 ••• President Obama is proposing to cut $2.5 billion in heating assistance for low-income people (LIHEAP).
2 ••• President Obama is proposing to cut $300 million from Community Development Block Grants, which the CBC is strongly opposed to.
3 ••• President Obama is proposing to cut $100 billion cut in Pell Grants over 10 years.
HOUSE GOP BUDGET CUS PROPOSALS
4 ••• The House GOP is proposing a $758 million cut in a program for the poor known as WIC. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children and provides food assistance to low-income women and their infants.
5 ••• A $1.125 billion cut in state and local law enforcement and COPS hiring.
6 ••• The House GOP is proposing to cut $1.6 billion cut in job training and employment grants.
7 ••• The House GOP is proposing a $1.3 billion cut in community health centers.
8 ••• The House GOP is proposing a cut of $210 million from Maternal and Child Health Block Grants. This would chop the program by 30%. Like the WIC program, the grants assist low-income pregnant women and their children in accessing health care.
Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Sen. Richard Lugar said Congress should have weighed-in beforehand, on “a very expensive operation, even in a limited way.” Sunday on Meet the Press Lugar sais,”It’s a strange time in which almost all of our congressional days are spent talking about budget, deficits, outrageous problems and yet [at the] same time, all of this passes.”
Read Crewof42, the blog on black members of the 112th Congress
