I tried not to mind the tragedy that people who use wheelchairs are homeless in the first place. A more disturbing thought occurred to me. We'd better get used to seeing more people in wheelchairs and seniors living on the streets: President Bush's proposed budget would eliminate almost 50 percent of housing assistance funds for people with disabilities - in the next year alone.

But it's not just these vulnerable groups who will be hurt by the administration's budget. Veterans' health benefits would be cut 16 percent and rural areas may see losses through reductions in rural development grants and reduced support for farmers.

If you have a parent or a grandparent in a nursing home, you can count on reduced services for him or her if $45 billion in proposed cuts to Medicaid are implemented over the next 10 years (most folks in nursing homes are funded by Medicaid). The administration is proposing further changes to Medicaid that will necessitate more cuts and shift additional health care costs to the states.

All told, the cuts in U.S. domestic discretionary programs that are outlined in the budget would total $214 billion over five years. In Utah this amounts to $473 million in cuts over five years. It was not easy for the Utah Legislature to meet the funding needs of low-income programs, as they did in this past legislative session. For all their (and our) trouble, they will now have to contend with further reductions in federal funding commitments to the states. This hardly seems fair.

While just the mention of the words "tax and budget" can make your eyes glaze over, we must pay attention to these issues as they will have serious implications for people in our community, including Utah's seniors, working families, children and people with disabilities.

Threats to entitlement programs will probably be hidden in complicated budget rules, which means that it will be very important to follow the federal budget process closely over the coming weeks. These budget rules could leave Congress with no choice but to cut all entitlement programs.

The time to act is now, as key decisions will be made in the next week. As a ranking member of the Finance Committee, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch could play a key role in limiting damage to low-income programs.

The way the budget process works, it will be too late to spare low-income programs by the time the budget instructions come down to Senate Finance. Sen. Hatch must be asked to step in and work with his colleagues Sens. Bill Frist, Judd Gregg and Chuck Grassley to ensure that the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution avoids putting the burden of deficit reduction on programs like Medicaid. Sen. Bob Bennett also plays a key role as chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee, which will address child nutrition programs and other important agricultural issues.

To understand why there was a massive $8.7 trillion swing in revenues from a $5 trillion surplus in January 2001 to a $3.7 trillion deficit in just four years, it helps to remember what caused it. Eighty-seven percent of the deficit resulted from a combination of tax cuts (58 percent) and increases in defense and homeland security spending (29 percent).

Only 9 percent of the deficit is related to increased spending on entitlement programs like Medicaid and unemployment benefits, and yet these programs will be made to absorb much of the cost of reducing the deficit. Utah Medicaid is a very lean, well-managed program with many cost-containment measures already in place. Cutting or capping the program will leave the state with no choice but to cut services or eligibility altogether.

Of course, the state will be left holding the bag, as health care costs will simply shift to the states. Low-income people will also pay dearly, as many will forgo needed health care or suffer financial hardship to get the care they need. In Utah we make a point of taking care of those less fortunate. However, budget cuts to the level proposed will make it impossible for us to act on our cherished values.

We hope all concerned Utahns will be in touch with our congressional delegation in the next few days. For further information visit Utah Issues on the Web: http://www.utahissues.org.

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Jeff Fox served as a state representative from 1977-82. He is founder of Utahns Against Hunger and Wasatch Community Gardens and executive director of Crossroads Urban Center for 10 years.