Opportunity and Education Are the Keys to Reducing Crime; Not Racism

Washington, DC— If Bill Bennett and his Republican colleagues in Washington are truly interested in reducing crime then they would not turn their backs on efforts to provide education for all and eliminate poverty in this country. Under the Bush Administration’s failed leadership the median household income for Americans has dropped by $1,700, while the number of people living in poverty increased by 1.1 million in 2004 alone. Bush has underfunded Title I education funding for low income children by $7.2 billion, denying reading and math help for 2.4 million low income children. During his term President Bush has consistently cut funding for programs benefiting low income students including Head Start and after school programs, while the gap between poor and affluent students has increased.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"One of the more egregious aspects of Bennett's recent statement is that it buys into and perpetuates the notion that race is a proxy for and a predictor of crime and violence. Race is not. Poverty and lack of opportunity are, and unfortunately, as Katrina reminded us, both are thriving in America today. Instead of dividing our country along racial lines, Bill Bennett and his Republican colleagues should be pushing for the types of investments we need to fight poverty and enhance opportunity, in order to reduce crime. Instead, they have turned their backs on them. "

Bush Breaks NCLB Promise to Fully Fund After-School Programs, Leaving 1.3 Million Children Behind. Bush’s FY 05 budget freezes funding for after-school programs at $1 billion, only half the amount Bush pledged in the No Child Left Behind Act. The parents of 28 million school age children work outside of the home, leaving up to 15 million “latchkey” kids to go home to an empty house on any given day. The funding that Bush promised would provide after-school programs for an additional 1.3 million children. Last budget, Bush actually proposed cutting the program by 40 percent [House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus, 2/6/04, www.house.gov/budget_democrats; Every Child Matters Education Fund, Dec. 2003, www.everychildmatters.org; President’s FY 2004 Budget, www.ed.gov; After School Alliance Press Release, 2/2/04]

Funding Gaps Between Poor and Affluent Students Increase Under Bush. Under Bush, the gains made in closing the funding gap between poor and affluent students in the late 1990s have disappeared. Instead, the funding gap between poor kids reversed direction and is getting bigger. Currently, students from affluent areas receive $1,348 in education funds than students from high poverty districts. A total of 36 states recorded funding gaps in 2002. [Education Trust, www.edtrust.org]

Bush Budget Guts Head Start. There are 324,700 African American children being served through Head Start, but the President’s budget eliminates the comprehensive educational, health, and nutrition services that children in this program currently receive. In addition, the budget freezes Head Start funding at this year’s level, meaning that 25,000 children will have to be cut from the program next year. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]

Number of People Living in Poverty Increased by 1.1 Million in 2004. Approximately 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, an increase of 5.4 million people living in poverty since Bush took office in 2001. The poverty rate has increased from 12.5 to 12.7 percent over the past year, increasing for the fourth consecutive year. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/30/05; Table B-1]