With lawmakers showing no inclination to roll back the remaining cuts, some of the most visible belt-tightening measures are unfolding in Washington itself.
On May 13, the U.S. National Arboretum, a part of the Department of Agriculture, will begin closing the grounds to the public on Tuesday through Thursday to implement the almost 8 percent budget cut. At the Smithsonian Institution, officials say some exhibits at many of its 19 museums and galleries will be closed at times due to security staffing cuts. The White House has already canceled public tours.
Some federal agencies, in detailed reports sent to Congress, provided the clearest picture yet of the impact of cuts on individual program.
The Energy Department says it will cut $190 million this fiscal year from defense nuclear nonproliferation programs, and $91 million from energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. While the Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from automatic cuts, programs that help veterans aren’t fully protected, as the Labor Department will ax programs providing employment and training to former soldiers by $13.3 million.
AIDS Tests
The Education Department says it will cut $3.4 million from funds used to help teach homeless children and youth, and also reduce state grants for adult basic and literacy education by $31 million.
At the Foundation for AIDS Research in New York, analysts estimate as many as 8,610 Americans will lose access to an AIDS Drug Assistance Program funded by HHS, and the National Institutes of Health will lose $153.7 million in AIDS research funding, meaning that 280 research grants would go unfunded, including 31 efforts to develop a vaccine.
About 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, the group said.
Although HHS has sent details of its budget cuts to Congress, the department is “not yet in a position to publicly provide figures on specific elements,” Bill Hall, an agency spokesman, said in an e-mail.
‘Crucial Time’