Chalk it up to an unnecessary war in Iraq. Call it the fault of tax cuts for the rich. Blame it on the Bush budget deficits. Domestic spending is about to take a hit, and there may be no more shocking example than adult education.

If Congress approves the budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration, Pennsylvania will lose about three-quarters of its federal funding for adult ed programs. That's a wholesale slashing from $19.3 million this year to $4.8 million in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Even more spending will be lost since states and local governments put up 25 percent of the funds for such programs to draw federal matching dollars.

All of that will wreak havoc for adult literacy training, diploma equivalency classes, courses for reviewing basic math skills and other education that boosts many adults into the work force.

Although President Bush likes to promote an "ownership society," his cuts will hurt Americans who may be a reading course or a diploma away from owning the fruits of a job.

The administration said adult education was ripe for cutting because the Office of Management and Budget found it difficult to measure the program's success. Others disagree, however, including the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, which argues that adult ed programs nationwide have been meeting goals set by the Bush Education Department.

While all states will be faced with the federal cuts, they come at a particularly bad time for Pennsylvania. A leaked memo at the state Department of Education detailed a personnel reduction plan that would make a series of changes, including the elimination of the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education. Capitolwire, an online news service, reported that state officials may shift the responsibilities for adult education and literacy to two other bureaus.

Experts in adult literacy are afraid it will lead to reduced emphasis on programs that teach such skills, doing particular harm to adults who are trying to acquire basic skills for the work world. Combine that with the proposed drop in federal funding, and anyone can see why literacy advocates are worried.

Congress needs to reconsider the Bush cuts on adult education, and the state education department needs to give adult literacy the prominence and resources it deserves. This is not some internal bureaucratic battle. It's about investing in people and giving them the skills to function as workers, parents and contributors to society.

That's a mission too worthy for a 75 percent cut.