Economy: Bush’s Budget Games
Yesterday, after meeting with his economic advisers at the Treasury Department, President Bush "vowed to veto spending bills that exceed his targets" for the fiscal year 2008 federal budget while accusing congressional leaders "of plotting the largest tax increase in history to fund an additional $205 billion in discretionary spending over five years."
AUGUST 9 , 2007 | by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, and Matt Corley Contact Us | Tell-a-Friend | Archives | Permalink |
ECONOMY Bush’s Budget GamesYesterday, after meeting with his economic advisers at the Treasury Department, President Bush “vowed to veto spending bills that exceed his targets” for the fiscal year 2008 federal budget while accusing congressional leaders “of plotting the largest tax increase in history to fund an additional $205 billion in discretionary spending over five years.” “If the majority in Congress gets it way, American families, small businesses will face a massive tax hike,” threatened Bush. “Today, the President misled the nation about the budget Congress sent him,” replied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). “The New Direction Congress passed a responsible budget that restores fiscal responsibility and makes up for the disastrous cuts the President has made to vital services for Americans.” Congress’s budget plan is only “seven-tenths of one percent different from his spending plan,” she added. In February, Bush presented a $2.9 trillion spending plan to Congress, “proposing to spend billions more to fight the war in Iraq while squeezing the rest of the government.” The President’s plan, which “relies on budgetary gimmicks and unrealistic assumptions” in order to appear fiscally responsible, freezes “the entire domestic side of government” and would “force cutbacks that most Americans would view as painful and unnecessary.” Despite Bush’s budget bullying, Congress has stepped up to ensure that programs important to the majority of Americans remain solvent. PREVENTING CUTS TO VITAL PROGRAMS: Bush argues that Congress’ budget increases are extraneous because “his budget already contains a $60 billion increase in discretionary spending.” But all of that increase goes to just four out of 12 appropriations bills — the four bills that fund defense, veterans affairs, foreign affairs, and homeland security — leaving behind vital domestic programs “facing substantial cuts” due to inflation and rising costs. Bush’s budget cuts hit important programs in education, health care, conservation, low-income assistance, housing and even law enforcement. For instance, “the President’s budget cuts overall funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), our most important center for medical research, by $279 million below FY 2007.” Congress restored this cut but has drawn a veto threat. Additionally, Bush’s “proposal would result in $77 billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years, and $280 billion over the next 10.” Despite the need for America to move towards sustainable energy independence, the White House “cut research at the Department of Energy on energy efficiency and renewable energy by $238 million below current-year levels, research on fossil fuels by $26 million, and research on electricity by $23 million.” Congress has moved to not only restore, but to increase funding for such key priorities. BUSH’S ‘DRUNKEN SAILOR’ HYPOCRISY: “Receiving a lecture on fiscal responsibility from President Bush is a little bit like getting a lecture on the Freedom of Information Act from the Vice President,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) yesterday. “That is, it strains credulity.” As Hoyer points out, for Bush to all of a sudden preach strict fiscal discipline is the height of hypocrisy, considering he “has presided over the largest overall increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending since Lyndon B. Johnson.” In six years, the administration turned the “projected 10-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion when it took office” into “more than $3 trillion in additional debt.” During this time, Bush allowed Congress to “spend money like a drunken sailor,” as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) recently described it, by failing to veto a single spending bill sent to him when members of his own party controlled Congress. Despite his call for spending restraint in the current budget fight, Bush is seeking a fresh round of tax cuts for corporations that would further deprive revenue for important programs. Bush has no credibility when it comes to fiscal responsibility — only a penchant for irresponsibility and political gamesmanship.
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The research team that brings you The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org needs fall interns! Click here for more information. A major Chicago early-childhood program’s “gains in terms of reduced social-welfare costs already have far exceeded the program’s $5,000 per student-year cost to the Chicago public school system,” according to a recent study, “the first to affirm the long-term value of a large public early-childhood enrichment program.” TEXAS: Texas has 43 counties, the most of any state, that have a majority of minorities. CALIFORNIA: Schools in California will now “be required to have someone available who is trained to assist diabetic children.” WYOMING: New program will offer grants and other support intended to improve the quality of child care in the state. THINK PROGRESS: Right-winger accuses an Iraq war veteran of “stabbing” his “fellow men and women in uniform” in the back. THINK PROGRESS: REPORT: “The next few months” on Iraq that never end. POLITICS EXTRA: In order to counter an upcoming appearance by right-wing columnist Ann Coulter, students at Xavier University are asking for $5 donations to student groups “who represent the values Coulter vilifies in her speeches and writings.” ON POLITICS: In Iowa yesterday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) equated his sons’ campaigning for him to serving in the military. “We’re going to win. We will. We will never surrender.” VERSUS “I’m not positive we can win this fight” |
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