[TheBigB]

I'll bet the phrases "2.57 trillion" and "austere" have never before appeared in the same story.

[Brian328i]

>> and 5.6 percent at the Environmental Protection Agency.
I was so hoping to see that the EPA was scrapped. Shucks, maybe next time.

[Reagan Man]

Finally, some fiscal responsibility from our President. Reducing the size and scope of government is one of the major tenets of conservatism. Good move.

[grapeape]

I can hear the liberals whine already. This has to be done as fast as possible.

[cynicom]

I remember when the first $100 billion dollar budget was adopted under Eisenhower. Compare that to current proposal. Comparable dollars aside, it is a lot of walking around money for the politicians to play with.

[Drango]

NPR/PBS? Wanna bet they get funded?

[Non-Sequitur]

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.

Those figures don't include the $80 billion Bush wants for Iraq, the cost of making the tax cuts permanent, or the cost of allowing for private accounts for Social Security. So I wonder what the defecits really will be? How how really meaningless these supposed cuts actually are.

[MindBender26]

Friends in DC refer to this bueget as the "Lobbiests' Protection Act of 2005."

[JohnnyZ]

Many of the spending cuts in the budget are repeats of efforts the administration has proposed and Congress has rejected previously.

Let's see if Congress can get their butts in gear.

[RockinRight]

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

I should hope so.

[RockinRight]

Are these actual cuts in spending, or cuts in the increases of spending??

[inquest]

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.

What do you mean, "media bias"?

[inquest]

Spending, meanwhile, would grow by 3.5 percent to $2.57 trillion.

Anyone know if that's in real dollars?

[OXENinFLA]

C-span1 NOON (est)

News Conference Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Office of Management and Budget White House, Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Bolten, Joshua B., Director, Office of Management and Budget

Mr. Bolten will present the president's budget request for fiscal year 2006.

[inquest]

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.

Something's not making sense here. If revenues are growing considerably faster than expenditures, that would cause the deficit to go down, would it not? So how is it that they're saying that this would be a "record" deficit?

[Ben Ficklin]

2006 Budget

[Rutles4Ever]

Wow - this is the same budget my wife presented to me yesterday.

[pickemuphere]

cutting health care payments for poor people and veterans

Why the hell is he messing with veteran's benefits?

[staytrue]

I wish we could get rid of PBS. Does anyone watch PBS ?

[MadIvan]

Eliminate the following:

The Department of Energy
The Department of Agriculture
The Department of Education
The EPA
The Department of Transportation
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban Development

Kill all boondoggle projects such as the bridge to nowhere in Alaska. All other departments to get increases only in line with inflation, with the exception of Defence.

Regards, Ivan