Posted on 02/07/2005 7:56:15 AM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush sent Congress a $2.57 trillion budget plan Monday that seeks deep spending cuts across a wide swath of government from reducing subsidies paid to the nation's farmers, cutting health care payments for poor people and veterans and trimming spending on the environment and education.
The budget - the most austere of Bush's presidency - would eliminate or vastly scale back 150 government programs. It will spark months of contentious debate in Congress, where lawmakers will fight to protect their favored programs.
The spending document projects that the deficit will hit a record $427 billion this year, the third straight year that the red ink in dollar terms has set a record. Bush projects that the deficit will fall to $390 billion in 2006 and gradually decline to $233 billion in 2009 and $207 billion in 2010.
Bush's 2006 spending plan, for the budget year that begins next Oct. 1, counts on a healthy economy to boost revenues by 6.1 percent to $2.18 trillion. Spending, meanwhile, would grow by 3.5 percent to $2.57 trillion.
However, outside defense, homeland security and the government's huge mandatory programs such as Social Security, Bush proposes cutting spending for the rest of government by 0.5 percent, the first such proposed cut since the Reagan administration battled with its own soaring deficits.
Of 23 major government agencies, 12 would see their budget authority reduced next year, including cuts of 9.6 percent at Agriculture and 5.6 percent at the Environmental Protection Agency.
In his budget message to Congress, Bush said, "In order to sustain our economic expansion, we must continue pro-growth policies and enforce even greater spending restraint across the federal government."
But Democrats complained that Bush was resorting to draconian cuts that would hurt the needy in order to protect his first term tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy.
"This budget is part of the Republican plan to cut Social Security benefits while handing out lavish tax breaks for multimillionaires," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Its cuts in veterans programs, health care and education reflect the wrong priorities and its huge deficits are fiscally irresponsible."
Bush's budget does not reflect the costs for his No. 1 domestic priority, overhauling Social Security by allowing younger workers to set up private investment accounts. It also does not include any new spending for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, The administration has said it will seek in coming weeks an additional $80 billion for the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for this year.
Critics also contend that the five-year deficit projections also mask the costs of some Bush initiatives such as making his first-term tax cuts permanent, the bulk of which do not show up until after 2010. The budget puts the 10-year cost of making the president's tax cut proposals permanent at $1.29 trillion.
Bush's budget proposed increasing military spending by 4.8 percent to $419.3 billion in 2006. However, even with the increase a number of major weapons programs, including Bush's missile defense system and the B-2 stealth bomber, would see cuts from this year's levels.
Aside from defense and homeland security, favored Bush programs included a new $1.5 billion high school performance program, expanded Pell Grants for low-income college students and more support for community health clinics.
One of the most politically sensitive targets on Bush's hit list is the government support program for farmers, which he wants to trim by $5.7 billion over the next decade, which would represent cuts to farmers growing a wide range of cuts from cotton and rice to corn, soybeans and wheat.
Overall, the administration projected saving $8.2 billion in agriculture programs over the next decade including trimming food stamp payments to the poor by $1.1 billion.
Other programs set for cuts include the Army Corps of Engineers, whose dam and other waterway projects are extremely popular in Congress; the Energy Department; several health programs under the Health and Human Services Department and federal subsidies for the Amtrak passenger railroad.
About one-third of the programs being targeted for elimination are in the Education Department, including federal grant programs for local schools in such areas as vocational education, anti-drug efforts and Even Start, a $225 million literacy program.
In all, the president proposed savings of $137 billion over 10 years in mandatory programs with much of that occurring in reductions in Medicaid, the big federal-state program that provides health care for the poor, and in payments the Veterans Administration makes for health care. The administration proposed no savings for Medicare, the giant health care program for the elderly.
Many of the spending cuts in the budget are repeats of efforts the administration has proposed and Congress has rejected previously.
The Bush budget apparently has a large increase for the IRS
Dear liberals,
Is two-and-a-half trillion enough yet?
"The Bush budget apparently has a large increase for the IRS"
...which makes this charade of fiscal restraint even more sickening.
"...Legitimate tax reform would be a big step in removing hard cash from the fiscally irresponsible politicos who don't care about advancing a true conservatism agenda...."
The FairTax Act, HR 25 and S 25, would make the full cost of government visible to all...that would stop the drunken sailors in their tracks.
"...That means the average family of four has to cough up $34,000 in taxes each year (by means of direct taxes plus taxes that are built into the price of everything they buy)...."
You are absolutlely correct. Only The FairTax Act (HR 25/S 25) would remove the cost of embedded taxation from the goods we produce and put it on the receipt, as a clearly labeled tax. The FairTax Act makes the full cost of government visible to all...and that would put the brakes on spending faster than anything.
Ping to Ancient-Geezer and Badray
How come spending cuts are always 'deep' instead of 'shallow' ... $2.5 TRILLION IS HUGE ... a 'deep' cut would be some thing on the order of say 5% or 10% of that.
Where is the $250 billion cut in the budget?
Bush submitted a HUGE budget with minor nicks to some programs, like Amtrak, but which continues to grow Government.
Why cant AP report news instead of inventing it???
Does MSM officially wait for these boilplate claims, or do they carte blanche to publish them without asking first....
You can't scream about the spending and then complain about spending cuts.
Someplace in some honest universe that's a disconnect.
Thank you!
I agree with your premise for those whose other illnesses are covered some other way.
Do those on military disability still get social security/medicare?
You've got to love that headline and lead sentence.
A) Bush is a big spender who wastes trillions of dollars and runs up huge deficits.
B) Bush is a savage cutter of government support to our widows, orphans, farmers, sick people, and veterans.
When will he stop committing such heartless atrocities? He is mortaging our future while he savages the weak and the helpless!
"...The best way to help the poor is to increase economic growth and thats done by getting government off our back...."
AMEN! Check out the FairTax Act. It would abolish the IRS, one of the biggest impediments to growth ever invented. You can get more information at www.fairtax.org.
Hmmm, are we going in the right direction or not?
Okay, what's the annual rate of inflation. What's the annual rate of population increase. Now, add the two numbers together. Is the sum greater than 3.5% or less than 3.5%?
So many informed opinions here -- what's the answer, anybody?
For the record, I detest the AP.
Please tell me the "Corporation" for Public Broadcasting is being defunded. Taxpayer-funded left wing propaganda on NPR and PBS must stop.
OK, but Rooters is worse.
You need to open your eyes and read the President's budget proposals at Office of Management and Budget
Examples of proposed budget cuts for 2006.
Agriculture = -9.6%
Education = -.9%
Energy = -2.0%
HHS = -.5%
HUD = -11.5%
Interior = -1.1%
Justice = -5.5%
Labor = -4.4%
Transportation = -6.7%
Corps of Engineers = -7.2%
EPA = -5.6%
Except for demanding a form of co-pay from our vets (in the interest of fairness I am one) I like the idea of less spending. Cutting out so many of the programs is probably what I would have to call "a good start"
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