Clinton's budget would not hurt U.

and Tammy Polonsky President Clinton released his 1996 federal budget in Washington yesterday -- and according to University President Judith Rodin, the proposed cuts that could affect higher education are not as extensive as University officials had feared. Assistant Vice President for Policy Planning David Morse -- who lobbies for the University in Washington -- said under Clinton's plan, funding for student loans and research remains largely intact. But Rodin said until the budget is finalized and approved by Congress, the University will not be able to determine the exact effects of funding changes on financial aid packages, need-blind admissions or basic research activities. If the budget passes as it now stands, appropriations for the National Institutes of Health would increase by four percent in 1996, while funding for the National Science Foundation would increase by one percent, Morse said. "From what I know, the administration has come forward with a budget which is relatively gentle to the programs that we care about -- student aid and research funding," said Vice President for Government and Community Relations Carol Scheman. But she added that two "tremendously important" graduate fellowships for minority students -- Patricia Roberts Harris and Jacob Javits Fellowships -- have been "defunded" by the proposed budget. "The important thing to note is that this is the beginning of the budget cycle," Scheman said, emphasizing the importance of House Appropriations Committee hearings that will be held on the budget in the coming months. The hearings offer government agencies and the public a chance to voice their concerns about funding for various programs to lawmakers. "The word is that the administration proposes and the Congress disposes," she added. "We have to see what the disposition is." Morse shared Scheman's sentiments, saying that the budget proposal is as much a political document as it is an economic plan. Although the Clinton budget would not balance the federal books by the year 2002 -- as mandated by a draft constitutional amendment the U.S. House of Representatives has approved -- it makes substantial cuts in allocations for the Departments of Labor, Energy and Housing and Urban Development, Morse said. Also, Clinton's proposed budget is not expected to alienate any major constituencies such as students and middle-class families -- which could prove crucial for him as he attempts to work with a Republican-dominated Congress. "Usually the president proposes cuts that the Congress won't do," Morse said. "This year, Congress will take the president's proposals as a baseline and cut from there."

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