How Black Americans would feel the sting of Republican budget cut proposals

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Charla Plaines saw the toll lead paint took on her granddaughter, she was able to get the hazardous substance scrubbed from her home thanks to a federally funded program that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives want to cut. Black Americans, including Plaines, a 66-year-old grandmother in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, would be disproportionately hit by this and many other cuts lawmakers are pushing as Congress faces a government shutdown deadline this month. No amount of lead is considered safe, but tests showed Plaines' now-11-year-old gran...