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Politics & Government

Forest Hills Congressman Blasts Republican Budget

Weiner says GOP spending reforms would be disastrous for Queens.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-Forest Hills, stood at the Queens College main gate on Feb. 14, to criticize the Republican federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2011, which he said would cut more than $167 million in aid to the borough, including $57 million in academic scholarships.

"This news is bad for the City of New York and completely bad for Queens," Weiner said.

Weiner handed out a study his office conducted of the Republican plan, contending that New York City would lose more than $1 billion in federal aid if the GOP budget reforms were enacted.

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The highlighted cuts discussed in the study include:

  • $40 million to the NYPD that could mean the reduction of 150 street cops;
  • more than $73 million from infrastructure and security projects at the MTA;
  • $24 million from air traffic control upgrades at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports;
  • $140 million for upgrades in public housing; 
  • $26 million from the Head Start Program;
  • $114 million from clean and sanitary wastewater treatment services.

"When the GOP starts recklessly slashing the budget, nothing is safe — not even our safety," Weiner said. "The deficit needs to be reduced, but cutting cops and other vital services is not the way to do it."

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With the president of Queens College's Student Association,  senior Gabriella Berrezueta, at his side, Weiner was most critical of the proposal to slash Pell Grant scholarships, which provide money to needy college students, by $210 million or roughly $845 per recipient.

"It's a real bargain, but without these Pell Grants, students will find they can't afford college ... for some students that can be the difference," he said, noting that there are more than 168,000 college students across Queens.

"This is not acceptable, especially in a time of crisis," Berrezueta said.

Unveiled on Feb. 10, the Republican budget proposal mostly targets federal agencies for cuts and calls on the elimination of all Congressional earmarks. It claims to save $74 billion compared with the budget President Barack Obama released just before Weiner's press conference.

Congress will now debate the two proposals before taking a vote as early as the end of the week.

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