It's basic economics — the trickle-down theory.
Congress is forced to make budget cuts. Those cuts get passed on to local governments that, in turn, pass them down to the community programs they support. Those programs then have to cut the services they provide to real people.
In East Lansing, a federal budget deficit trickles down to less money for coats and scarves for MSU students from migrant families.
As part of a plan to trim about $2.2 billion from nondefense spending in the 2007 federal budget, President Bush proposed cutting back on Community Development Block Grants, or CDBGs, by roughly 20 percent. The federal grants are given to local governments on an annual basis and can be used for a variety of purposes.
East Lansing received about $600,000 in CDBGs for this year. Mayor Sam Singh said that's down from about $1 million when he first joined City Council in 1995.
Most of the money goes to public infrastructure projects and housing for low- and moderate-income residents, but about 15 percent is spent on grants for nonprofit agencies.
One of the programs East Lansing helps fund is MSU's College Assistance Migrant Program, or CAMP, which supports students from migrant families attending MSU.
Luis Garc'a, the program's director, said CAMP receives about $12,000-$14,000 from East Lansing.
"This funding, however limited, has been a lifesaver for us," Garc'a said. "It has a direct impact on determining whether a student stays or departs."
CAMP uses the funds to pay for students' medical expenses and needed supplies, such as glasses and warm clothes.
CDBGs are the only regular funds East Lansing receives from the federal government, and if they're reduced further, nonprofit programs like CAMP are in line for cuts, said City Manager Ted Staton.
A community board advises City Council on distributing grant money — and what to cut. Some of the programs the city funds have already received small cuts, Staton said.
The city has also made significant reductions in spending on infrastructure improvements — there won't be any streets resurfaced in East Lansing this year. Money for those types of projects might have to come from taxes in the future, Staton said.
Staton and Singh traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month as part of a national lobbying effort by local governments, and one of the issues they discussed with legislators was the endangered grant program.
"It makes an impact to have them out in D.C.," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, who met with Singh and Staton. "It sends a pretty clear message."
Rogers said he doesn't support Bush's proposal, particularly with Michigan's current economic climate, but wouldn't oppose a smaller cut.
"I do believe that we need to have an across-the-board funding reduction," he said.
Rogers' name wasn't on a letter signed by 177 representatives in support of protecting CDBGs, but he met with the chairman of the House Budget Committee to advocate for the grants. It's unlikely Congress will vote on cuts to CDBGs as steep as 20 percent, Rogers said, and Arnold Weinfeld of the Michigan Municipal League is hopeful that's the case.
"(Bush's proposal) would be pretty devastating to communities that have already been hard pressed by cuts in state revenue sharing," Weinfeld said. "Certainly, the feeling that we got is that the president's proposal will not be the one that survives."
Programs like CAMP, which are indirectly funded by federal money, are proof that fixing the budget is about more than just crunching numbers.
"People are so far removed from where this money ends up," Garc'a said. "They sometimes forget the human lives it touches."
