Land-grant college officials fear their institutions may be among hardest hit if proposed policy is enacted |
The "Contract with America," if enacted by the new, Republican-controlled Congress, would mortally cripple the colleges, say administrators familiar with the document. It calls, they estimate, for cuts of up to $700 million in agricultural research and extension services in a USDA budget of about $1.3 billion. Some reports have total cuts as high as more than $800 million.
"Enacting that contract would have a devastating effect," declares Thomas Fretz, dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of Maryland. "We are worried, but until...
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