 Isle delegation says Bush numbers don't add up
By David Espo
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush is setting out to sell his plans for tax cuts, debt repayment and restrained federal spending while Congress begins dissecting them in a debate likely to last for months.
| President Bush's Budget Proposal
Total spending: $1.9 trillion.
Discretionary spending: 4 percent increase to $663 billion. (Includes all government spending except automatic benefits like Medicare.)
Debt reduction: $2 trillion over 10 years, paid for out of a projected $2.6 trillion Social Security suprlus over that time. The other $600 billion would go to shoring up the retirement fund.
Tax cuts: $1.6 trillion over 10 years, retroactive to 2001.
Spending increases:
Education Dept.: 11.5 percent, from $39.9 billion to $44.5 billion.
Defense Dept.: $13 billion, to $310 billion.
Medicare: 10 percent.
Spending cuts: Energy Department — $400 million, to $19 billion. |
"The growing surplus exists because taxes are too high and government is charging more than it needs,'' the new president said Tuesday night in a nationally televised address — his first before Congress.
"The people have been overcharged and on their behalf, I am here asking for a refund.''
He drew cheers for that, and across-the-board praise from Republicans afterward. Democrats swiftly signaled their determination to resist a cut of $1.6 trillion over 10 years, arguing it threatens Social Security, Medicare and other important programs.
"President Bush's budget numbers simply don't add up. Ours do,'' House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt said. "His plan leaves no money for anything except tax cuts. Ours does.''
His speech behind him, the president was setting out for Pennsylvania, first stop on a five-state swing designed to build public support for his budget and bring pressure on Democratic lawmakers whose votes could be pivotal.
After Pennsylvania, the presidential itinerary ran to Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas and Georgia — all states with moderate and conservative Democrats whose votes Bush hopes to gain.
"I feel the pressure to do the right thing,'' first-term Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said several hours before the president spoke. "I don't feel presidential pressure. I'm not weak-kneed. I'll stand the test.''
Democrats have yet to agree on the details of a tax cut alternative, and Bush used his nationally televised speech to make the case for across-the-board reductions, reducing the so-called marriage penalty, doubling the child credit and — the most controversial portion — phasing out the estate tax.
"We must act quickly'' to cut taxes, the president said Tuesday night, and Republicans were eager to comply. Officials said the House Ways and Means Committee would meet Thursday to approve the centerpiece of Bush's plan, income tax rate reductions. A vote in the full House would follow next week, but the bill is unlikely to come up for a Senate vote before mid- to late-spring.
Tax cuts aside, Bush said his budget would retire $2 trillion of the publicly held federal debt over the next decade — the maximum that can prudently be retired, he said. He said his budget would keep the Social Security surplus off-limits to regular government spending, and dedicate all Medicare payroll tax receipts to the Medicare program.
He also proposed curtailing a recent run-up in federal spending, calling for an overall increase of 4 percent, down from the 6 percent of the past few years. Without cutting back, he said the nation "will spend the surplus and have to dip into Social Security to pay other bills.''
Bush also used his speech to sketch an agenda that will extend beyond his first year in office — calling not only for passage of his signature education proposals, but also a prescription drug benefit for Medicare and changes in Social Security to allow individuals to invest some of their own money. He also said he hoped for a patients' bill of rights, enhanced authority to negotiate trade treaties, a missile defense system and more.
At the same time, he articulated a view of government to guide him. "Government should be active, but limited, engaged, but not overbearing,'' he said.
The polls suggest no overwhelming mandate for tax cuts, and without backing off on any of the details, Bush has begun to stress the extent to which his budget will pay down the debt.
At the end of 10 years, he said, his budget will have repaid $2 trillion, "more debt repaid more quickly than has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history.''
Even before he stepped to the podium in the House chamber, Bush's plans had gained the support of one Republican who has voted repeatedly against tax cuts over the past two years.
Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio said he now favors "an immediate marginal-rate tax cut,'' as part of a comprehensive budget that attacks the federal debt and restrains the growth of spending.
In their official responses Tuesday night, delivered from the office of the Senate chaplain in the Capitol, Gephardt and Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle both said they were willing to cooperate with the new president — but attacked his tax cut plans lustily.
"When he insists on proposals that threaten the prosperity of all Americans, or that harm Social Security or Medicare, we will fight, and fight hard, to put the interests of working families first,'' Daschle said.
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