INFORMATIVE HUB: Bush defends spending cuts amid lawmakers' qualms
Surprise... Surprise...
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday defended domestic spending-cut proposals that have been greeted warily in the U.S. Congress, saying the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina had forced him to make tough decisions.
He also pushed anew for extension of his first-term tax cuts and said if they were allowed to expire, growth and government revenues would suffer.
Two days after unveiling a $2.77 trillion budget plan that would cut or eliminate 141 programs, Bush said he had targeted programs that either were not performing well or were no longer needed. He has also proposed squeezing $36 billion in savings over five years from the Medicare health program for the elderly.
At a business luncheon in New Hampshire, a state that prides itself on low taxes, Bush urged lawmakers to enact "sunset" provisions that would force periodic reviews of federal programs to see if they are still needed.
"Families set priorities, individual Americans set priorities, business people set priorities all the time when it comes to setting the budget, and that's what the federal government needs to do," he said.
In a congressional election year when Democrats hope to reverse Republican dominance in both the House and the Senate, Democrats blame Bush and his allies for bloating budget deficits with huge tax cuts and fault the president for underestimating the Iraq war's costs.
The White House projects the budget deficit will hit a record $423 billion this year.
"There's no question the war and the hurricanes have stretched our budget — all the more reason to set priorities and to be wise with your money," Bush said.
But Democrats say Bush would force the middle-class to bear the brunt of fiscal recklessness.
"If you're already wealthy, then this budget will make you wealthier. But if you're a widow, orphan or are disabled, you'll see a cut in benefits," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Some Republicans, including Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, have expressed qualms about parts of Bush's budget proposal.
Bush also faces pressure from his conservative base to get tougher on spending, which some Republicans say has risen far too sharply on his watch.
An editorial in the Manchester Union Leader on Wednesday said budget deficits had been made "ridiculously large" by "Republican profligacy."
It said Bush's promises to reduce the deficit in future years were based on "fiction" because of unrealistic assumptions underlying his projections.
While seeking nearly $15 billion in savings by trimming programs in cancer research, community policing and other areas, Bush would give a record $439.3 billion to the Pentagon, up 4.8 percent from last year. On top of that, the White House will seek new financing for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Back in Washington later, Bush signed a measure to cut $39 billion over five years from the Medicaid health care program for the poor, student loans and other programs.
But hours after Bush signed the measure, a Senate aide told reporters that a clerical error written into the bill as it bounced between the House and Senate could mean it may need another vote.
The typographical error resulted in the House and Senate passing slightly different versions of the legislation.
Legislation becomes law only when the president signs a measure that has been passed in identical form by the House and Senate. Aides in both the House and Senate said it was not yet clear how lawmakers would fix the problem.
View Source...
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday defended domestic spending-cut proposals that have been greeted warily in the U.S. Congress, saying the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina had forced him to make tough decisions.
He also pushed anew for extension of his first-term tax cuts and said if they were allowed to expire, growth and government revenues would suffer.
Two days after unveiling a $2.77 trillion budget plan that would cut or eliminate 141 programs, Bush said he had targeted programs that either were not performing well or were no longer needed. He has also proposed squeezing $36 billion in savings over five years from the Medicare health program for the elderly.
At a business luncheon in New Hampshire, a state that prides itself on low taxes, Bush urged lawmakers to enact "sunset" provisions that would force periodic reviews of federal programs to see if they are still needed.
"Families set priorities, individual Americans set priorities, business people set priorities all the time when it comes to setting the budget, and that's what the federal government needs to do," he said.
In a congressional election year when Democrats hope to reverse Republican dominance in both the House and the Senate, Democrats blame Bush and his allies for bloating budget deficits with huge tax cuts and fault the president for underestimating the Iraq war's costs.
The White House projects the budget deficit will hit a record $423 billion this year.
"There's no question the war and the hurricanes have stretched our budget — all the more reason to set priorities and to be wise with your money," Bush said.
But Democrats say Bush would force the middle-class to bear the brunt of fiscal recklessness.
"If you're already wealthy, then this budget will make you wealthier. But if you're a widow, orphan or are disabled, you'll see a cut in benefits," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Some Republicans, including Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, have expressed qualms about parts of Bush's budget proposal.
Bush also faces pressure from his conservative base to get tougher on spending, which some Republicans say has risen far too sharply on his watch.
An editorial in the Manchester Union Leader on Wednesday said budget deficits had been made "ridiculously large" by "Republican profligacy."
It said Bush's promises to reduce the deficit in future years were based on "fiction" because of unrealistic assumptions underlying his projections.
While seeking nearly $15 billion in savings by trimming programs in cancer research, community policing and other areas, Bush would give a record $439.3 billion to the Pentagon, up 4.8 percent from last year. On top of that, the White House will seek new financing for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Back in Washington later, Bush signed a measure to cut $39 billion over five years from the Medicaid health care program for the poor, student loans and other programs.
But hours after Bush signed the measure, a Senate aide told reporters that a clerical error written into the bill as it bounced between the House and Senate could mean it may need another vote.
The typographical error resulted in the House and Senate passing slightly different versions of the legislation.
Legislation becomes law only when the president signs a measure that has been passed in identical form by the House and Senate. Aides in both the House and Senate said it was not yet clear how lawmakers would fix the problem.
View Source...
posted by Anonymous | 2/09/2006 12:34:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home