Bush Seeks to Soothe Republican Worries on Budget

Reuters ^ | Sat January 31, 2004 | Caren Bohan

[demlosers]

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - President Bush vowed on Saturday to hold the line on spending as he sought to reassure members of his own party who are upset at record budget deficits.

The president told a gathering of congressional Republicans that the task of restraining spending would be a tough one in an election year when politicians are loath to cut popular programs.

"This is going to be a challenging year for making sure we spend the people's money wisely," he said.

But Bush said he wanted to send a "clear signal" to the public and to financial markets that the administration was committed to belt-tightening.

The strategy session of Republicans came just two days before Bush was set to unveil his fiscal 2005 budget. It is expected to project a record $521 billion deficit.

The budget will call for holding spending growth outside of defense and homeland security to 0.5 percent.

But some conservative Republicans worry that safeguarding security-related expenditures from the budget cap will give the White House wide latitude to propose new spending since security issues might be defined broadly within the budget.

New costs such as a White House proposal for manned expeditions to the moon and Mars have set fiscal conservatives on edge.

Further stoking concerns was an acknowledgment this week by the White House that Bush's Medicare prescription drug program would cost tens of billions more than expected.

Bush's budget will show a $530 billion cost over 10 years for the addition of a prescription drug benefit for the Medicare health program for senior citizens. That is 33 percent more than was anticipated when the Medicare overhaul was approved less than two months ago.

Bush seemed to win some goodwill with the members of his party by lingering for an hour in a private session to take questions -- longer than he has in previous years. The president was asked about both Medicare and the budget deficits.

On Medicare, Bush replied he had no regrets about pushing for the prescription drug benefit despite its price tag and said he still thought he could accomplish his goal of cutting the budget deficit in half in five years, according to a U.S. official who was there.

Another participant said that on that matter of the budget deficit, "there's a sense that we need to act."

"Some of the frustration (over the deficit) is directed at the president and some it is directed at ourselves," said the participant, who is a Republican congressional aide.

Despite griping that has been going on behind the scenes about budgetary issues, Republicans girded for the election battle with solidarity chants of "Four more years" after Bush finished his speech.

Bush has come under repeated attacks over the deficit from Democrats trying to unseat him. They blame his tax cuts for the red ink. The president faces a re-election vote in November.

Democrats said on Saturday that Bush, in his efforts to rein in deficits, was targeting programs that help the most vulnerable U.S. citizens.

"Tax cuts that pile on to the largest deficit in our history will not help those folks find jobs," Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina said in the Democratic response to the president's Saturday radio address. "Deficits drag the economy down, increase interest rates, and leave a staggering debt for our children to pay."

Bush in his own radio address earlier urged Congress to bring back now-expired rules that forbid increases in spending unless they are paid for elsewhere within the budget.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Who said vote for a democrat?

[Codeflier]

Well, using your numbers of 11.5 trillion GDP and $521 Billion Deficit, I get 4.53%. Not as dramatic from the 3.4% from another poster you seemed to take exception to. You imply that it is much larger than 3.4%, when using your very numbers shows it is not that much different.

[TheEaglehasLanded]

My point was that Clinton's last budget was $1.86 Trillion, Bush's FY05 will be $2.3 Trillion, $460 Billion increase, he should be able to cut that in half easy

[Huck]

Hell yeah. Make it hurt.

[annyokie]

Read carefully: SURPLUS means we are getting charged too much.

[Huck]

LOL

[dubyagee]

But Bush said he wanted to send a "clear signal" to the public and to financial markets that the administration was committed to belt-tightening.

WE'RE NOT HEARING YA! MIGHT WANNA TALK A LITTLE LOUDER!

[annyokie]

Agreed. He is not spending like a drunken sailor, imo.

What other President has had to refund National Defense and deal with Homeland Security? All the while, the stock market is charging and homestarts are at an all time high. Tech stocks rise form the dead, as well.

[Huck]

Surplus means we are getting charged too much

It means someone may have paid in more than we needed. That someone ain't necessarily you or me. Besides, a surplus is easily paid out as a rebate, just like we did this last time. I'd rather have a surplus and a rebate, with no new debt and with spending moderated by budgetary discipline than have spending out of control, debt building up, and me with the not so rational feeling that this is a better deal for me.

[annyokie]

Huck, and I say this with respect, subscribe to the WSJ. Better yet, get a business degree, then talk to me.

[Huck]

Bush seemed to win some goodwill with the members of his party

Yeah. He's having to work for it now. Let's see if he can walk the walk.

[Huck]

Have fun aplogizing for big government.

[Henchman]

"But Bush said he wanted to send a "clear signal" to the public and to financial markets that the administration was committed to belt-tightening" With these deficits, unwarranted social programs, bloated budget, deficits etc etc WE DO NOT HAVE A BELT! We have SUSPENDERS and OVERALLS! We don't fit into our dollar anymore!

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Yes, and a deficit means we are getting charged too much too. It's just a matter of paying for it now or later, either way it will be paid. Either way we are bing charged too much either way.

[MEG33]

FYI

[annyokie]

It's "bidness."

"The business of government is business" Calvin Coolidge.

[jstolarczyk]

Lemmings?.... the Lemmings are the Democrats that will vote for "anyone but Bush", ABB. That takes allot of thought, intelligence and a true concern for this country. The typical liberal (progressive socialist) response to a true debate of ideas, amounts to I hate Bush. Why do liberal lemmings always put politics on an emotional plain vice a well thought out, reasoned and positive response to issues. Could it be they are lacking in substance? I do not like Kerry, because he abandoned veterans (of which I am one) for the last 30 years now hides behind our uniforms to protect him from his liberal voting record, including raising veterans taxes in 1993, while trying to prevent a pay raise for our troops just back from Desert Storm! At least I have a reason.

[MEG33]

We really didn't have a surplus..that was a projection.We should always have a deficit,but it is necessary to cut this deficit.We need to cut out these add ons to the bills,get the budget in line with income.

[annyokie]

Captial expenditures are a bet on the future. The sky is NOT falling!

[annyokie]

TG, someone else here gets it.