Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) stated, It is tremendously disappointing that President Bush has cut funding in his fiscal year (FY) 2007 budget for important programs that are vital to the well being, education, economic success and safety of Rhode Islanders. Reed continued, While the budget has appropriately invested in national security, it unfortunately leaves our citizens behind here at home. In addition, the Presidents budget seeks to make costly tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans permanent at a time when we are facing one of the largest deficits in our nations history.In his FY2007 budget, the President makes substantial cuts to important health care programs, including Medicare and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). At a time when Rhode Island and the entire nation is facing nursing shortages, the President is attempting to make it more difficult to train health professionals and make health care less obtainable for Rhode Islanders and Americans by eliminating several Health Professions Training Programs which are designed to train primary care providers to meet the needs of special and underserved populations, as well as increase minority representation in the health care workforce. The budget also eliminates at least 15 other health programs including Emergency Medical Services for Children, Newborn Hearing Screening, Trauma Care, and the newly created Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank, which Reed worked to enact and the President signed into law late last year. The budget again proposes level funding for the National Institutes of Health, directly impacting research grants in Rhode Island.Additionally, the Bush Administrations budget would only provide $2.652 billion for pandemic influenza preparedness, even though Congress approved $3.320 billion last year.The President has abandoned students who expect and deserve quality education as well as teachers and school systems trying to provide a solid education. The FY 07 budget eliminates almost $1 billion in 48 federally funded education programs, including GEAR UP, Teacher Quality Enhancement, Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP), Even Start, TRIO Upward Bound/Talent Search, and Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants. Additionally, the budget would provide no additional funding for the Head Start and Early Head Start program. In Rhode Island, thousands of students have received LEAP funding and support from the GEAR UP program which helps prepare low-income and at risk children for college. In addition to cuts to several health programs, the budget does not make clean and safe drinking water a priority by cutting both the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.In his State of the Union Address, the President spoke of the importance of increased funding for renewable energy, yet his budget comes up short. Weatherization grants to increase energy efficiency would be deeply cut under the Presidents proposal, and the Department of Energys (DOE) program for energy efficient Building Codes Training and Assistance and Inventions and Innovations program would be eliminated. When the Administration stresses the importance of security and protecting our nation, he has proposed large cuts to the successful Fire Grant program through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Rhode Island fire departments received over $1.7 million last year through the fire grant program. The budget again provides inadequate funding for transit security. Reed has proposed several amendments to increase funding for transit security.The budget also would eliminate all vocational and technical education programs and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and decrease funding for job training programs.