February 8, 2005
WHAT, YOU THOUGHT WE MEANT IT?:
Bush budget puts security first: 'Lean' proposal trims or ends hundreds of domestic programs (Ron Hutcheson, 2/08/05, KNIGHT RIDDER)
President Bush on Monday sent Congress a nearly $2.6 trillion federal budget that would boost spending for defense and national security while scaling back or eliminating hundreds of domestic programs.The 2006 spending plan calls for the biggest cuts in domestic expenditures since the Reagan years, but would still result in a $390 billion federal deficit. [...]
The president called his spending proposal a "lean budget" that funnels tax dollars to the most vital government programs.
Overall spending for discretionary government programs covered by the annual budget process would increase by about 2.1 percent -- slightly below the projected 2.3 percent inflation rate -- but the money would be allocated unevenly.
Programs that aren't related to defense or homeland security would get a 1 percent cut.
About 150 programs would be eliminated or dramatically reduced, but administration officials declined to list them, and Congress is sure to have different ideas.
Bush targeted 65 programs for elimination last year; all but four survived.
After all the carping from the far Right and the Democrats we're about to find out how little interest anyone actually has in balancing the budget. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 8, 2005 10:57 AM
I agree that showing how little anyone actually wants balanced budget is part of the point of the exercise (everyone thinks we need to sacrifice to balance the budget, so long as by "we" we mean "you"). But if Rove and the President really are aiming at the whole enchilada -- national political realignment lasting generations -- they need to step up and slap down the Republicans in Congress, explaining that they are still just crew, and crew can be tossed overboard.
Posted by: David Cohen at February 8, 2005 11:40 AMThismorning I read that last year the government spent $1.2 B to subsidise Amtrak which carried 24 M passengers. I think it would have been cheaper and more effective to have given each of them a $50 coupon good for a bus or airline ticket.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at February 8, 2005 12:36 PMThis is where GOP hypocrisy becomes fully apparent. GOPers will scream about reducing spending and shrinking govt but when given the opportunity do so with (especially with some political cover from a fairly popular president) they won't do anything. As noted in the article Bush proposed cutting 65 programs and all but 4 survived.
Posted by: AWW at February 8, 2005 1:38 PMAWW:
Yes. I put the "over/under" this year on the 150 programs proposed to be cut at about 5.
Posted by: Rick T. at February 8, 2005 1:49 PMAWW
Newt actually did cut programs and eventually it led to Clinton budget Surpluses. You notice Newt in now the "former" speaker.
Posted by: h-man at February 8, 2005 6:46 PM