30 Friday, January 31, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ow Wip
Affect Israel And
The Jewish
1
The Gramm-Rudman-Hob
lings deficit reduction act is
the most far-reaching piece of
budget legislation approved
by,Congress in more than a
" decade. It will affect nearly
every part of the federal
budget — including aid to
Israel and social programs
high on the Jewish communi-
ty s domestic agenda.
Named for its Senate au-
thors, Phil Gramm (R-Texas),
Warren Rudman (R-N.H.),
and Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.),
the measure was passed by
Congress in December as an
amendment to• the federal ,
debt ceiling extension. It pio-
vides for annual reductions in
the budget deficit from near-
ly $172 billion in fiscal 1986
until Congress reaches-a bal-
anced budget in fiscal 1991.
The law sets declining target
deficits for the intervening
years. It includes a mechan-
ism to enforce cuts automati-
cally — if Congress does not
make sufficient reductions --
to reach the goal.
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
works like this. After Con-
gress finishes the budget, the
Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and the Con-
gressional -Budget Office
(CBO) will determine the size
of the deficit. Based on a joint
OMB/CBO report, the Comp-
troller-General determines
the amount that spending
must be cut to reach each an-
nual deficit target. T _ he total
reduction will be divided
equally between defense and
non-defense programs — with
Social Security, debt repay-
ment and eight other pro-',
grams benefitting mostly the
poor and elderly exempted.
Equal percentage reduc-
tions would then be made .
within each of the categories.
All defense programs would
be reduced by a uniform
percentage and all non-ex-
empt, non-defense programs
would be reduced by their
own uniform percentage.
Gramm-Rudxnan-Hollings re-
quires the President to imple-
ment the cuts, called "se-
questering," as specified by
the Comptroller-General.
The law already faces a
double-barrel court challenge.
If it survives and remains in
force, federal budgeting will
enter, a "brave new world."
Old assnmptions about ever-
increasing levels of assis-
tance to Jerusalem and about
politically sacred social pro-
grams go out the window.
Since the fiscal 1987 deficit
(the federal revenue year be-
Cominunity?
be a larger share of an ever-
shrinking pie.
Public comment from the
Israeli embassy so far has fo-
cused on the relatively mod-
erate cuts required for fiscal
1986, and has stressed the
fact that since the aid levels
were previously negotiated
and agreed to by both Israel
and the United States, Jeru-
salem hopes they will be hon-
ored.
Regardless, the Hill veter-
an said that few Israelis seem
to realize that an era may be
ending. That period saw' aid
jump from several hundred
million dollars annually — in
loans,— before the 1973 Yom
Kippur War to several billion
dollars a year — all in grants
—, by the mid-1980's.
The picture is much the
same for domestic programs
iniportant ta many communi-
ty Jewish federations and af-
filiated agenaies.
Since 50•percent of the cuts
must come from non-defense
spending, and since several of
the largest budget items such
as Social Security, other pen-
sions and veterans' assis-
tance are protected, large re-
ductions must come from re-
maining domestic spending.
This includes, says Ellen Wit-
man, legislative director for
the Washington-based Coun-
cil of Jewish. Federations, the
Older Americans Act and Ti-
tle XX Social Service Block
Grants.
Jewish Community Cen-
ters and • other institutions
count on the Older Ameri-
cans Act for funding of nutri-
tion programs and other ser-
vices for the elderly, Witman
noted. And Title XX Social
Service Block Grants are pro-
bably the major source of
federal money for social ser-
vice of all kinds. Also
threatened are refugee reset-
tlement funds for Soviet
Jews and others, housing,
transportation and additional
programs that. Jewish Fami-
ly Services, homes for the
'aged and similar agencies re-
ly on.
According to Witman, af
ter the cuts in social pro-
grams made during the past
five years, "there isn't really
a lot of fat to cut anymore, if
there Was to begin with....
We'-ve had a lot of questions
from the federations and the
agencies. No one has a real
handle on what it means yet, •
except for the, domestic
across-the-board cut we ex-
pect for this year."
Says one lobbyist of
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings and
,
Sen. Phil Gramm
Sen. Warren B. Rudman
For one thing, it could cut the amount of
money that social agencies receive from the
federal government. And for another -- well,
Israel's planning to return $51 million in U.S. aid
BY ERIC ROZENMAN AND RALPH NURNBERGER
-
Special to The Jewish News
gins on Oct. 1) is expected to
be a record $220 billion,
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings will
amount to a major forced
overhaul of the way Wash-
ington does business. Reduc- '
tions of $11.7 billion will be
sequestered from the current
1986 budget. If, as expected,
Congress fails to make item-
ized cuts by Mar. 1, an
across-the-board decrease of
about 4.3 percent will be im-
posed on non-defense spend-
ing and 4.9 percent on de-
fense programs.
Foi- Israel this means a loss
of about $77 million of its ap-
proved $1.8 billion military
assistance in fiscal 1986.
Alone of all countries receiv-
ing foreign aid, Israel this
,
year may avoid a similar 4.3
Losses to Turkey, Greece and
percent cut — $51.million —
other nations would then
in economic asistance. That is
have to be much higher, than
because it received its $1.2
4.3 percent — probably close
billion economic aid in early
to 8 percent — so' that the
disbursal at the start of the
overall reduction in foreign
fiscal year. However, Israel
economic aid can reach the
has voluntarily accepted this
mandated 4.3 percent.
cut to minimize U.S. foreign
Nevertheless, • the more
aid budgeting problems and
• draconian decreases Gramm-
will return the $51 million.
Rndman-Hollings will require
The State Department and.
from 1987 through 1991
Office of Management and
mean that `` keeping overall
Budget had eyed cuts in Is-
military and c iromic aid to
rael's supplemental emergen-
Israel const t let alone in-
cy economic aid of $750 mil-
creasing it, ould bp difficult.
lion. 'But that money came
Said one-CapitO1 Hill observ-
from the fiscal 1985 budget,
er, "Whataver the foreign aid
even though it will be paid
total is for this year [$12
out in the current fiscal year.
billion-plus], it may never go
Egypt had hoped it could
that high again." So if aid. to
avoid a $40 million aid slash, .
Israel is to rise,-it will have to