Obama Proposes Cutting, Consolidating 210 Programs to Save $24B
February 13, 2012
The Obama administration's 2013 budget request outlines 210 proposed cuts, consolidations and other economies with a projected savings of more than $24 billion next year.
A Transportation Department airport grant program, for example, would be chopped by more than $900 million — down more than one-quarter from this year's total — by ending guaranteed funding for large- and medium-hub airports.
Also targeted for a major reduction is NASA funding for robotic exploration of Mars, which would be cut from $587 million to $361 million. Following last November's launch of the multibillion-dollar Mars Science Laboratory mission, the administration is proposing "a lower-cost approach that will advance science" and "lay the foundation for future human exploration," the request says.