Bob Wise: “here it is--the President's budget submitted today to the Congress. The budget comes at a time of record deficit…”

“here it is--the President's budget submitted today to the Congress. The budget comes at a time of record deficit reduction, the first 3- year consecutive drop in the budget deficit since Harry Truman. But for those Members who doubted there would be cuts back in the fall, let me tell them that there is pain in the budget for our country and for my State of West Virginia. The LIHEAP Program, low income energy assistance, after the cruelest winter in memory, would be cut 50 percent. The Appalachian Regional Commission would be cut 25 percent. The Antidrug Burn Program would be eliminated. The Office of Surface Mine, Rural Mine Land Abandonment Program would be eliminated. Transportation projects would be endangered. As a Member of the Committee on the Budget, I can tell the Members that we will go over this carefully, and I urge every Member to look at this carefully. Mr. Speaker, deficit reduction is neither easy nor pleasant.”