SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY THE BUDGET
MARCH 23, 2004
SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY -
THE BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued today's "Bush Administration's Misstatement of the Day" on the Budget.
Speaking about his proposed budget, President Bush called on ".Congress to be wise with the taxpayer's money," and added that his Administration will work with Congress "to bring fiscal discipline to the appropriations process." (February 2, 2004)
However, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the budgets proposed by President Bush and House Republicans are not "wise with the taxpayer's money."
According to reports by the CBPP, a provision in President Bush's budget to make the tax cuts permanent would cost "approximately $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years," while ".the [House Republican] plan increases deficits by $1.5 trillion . as a result of the plan's large tax cuts and defense spending increases."
In addition to wasting billions of dollars on tax cuts for the wealthy, the budgets proposed by the President and House Republicans would:
Underfund homeland security programs. The Bush Administration budget cuts first responder funding by $648 million and cuts port security grants by 63 percent. And the House Republican budget is even worse. It cuts homeland security funding by an additional $155 million in 2005 and $857 million over five years.
Fail to provide needed funding for veterans health care. The President's budget raises health care costs for up to 1 million veterans and fails to repeal the Disabled Veterans Tax, which forces disabled military retirees to give up one dollar of their pension for every dollar of disability pay they receive. The House Republican budget increases funding above the inadequate Bush request, but is still more than $1 billion short of what veterans need. It contains an empty promise to end the Survivor Benefit Penalty, but only if cuts to other programs are made. And Republicans rejected Democratic efforts to increase family separation and imminent danger pay for men and women in uniform deployed around the world.
Cut environmental protection programs. The Republican budget cuts $1.6 billion from environmental programs in 2005, and cuts $6.4 billion from these programs over five years. In 1995, 82 percent of Superfund funding came from the Trust Fund. But under the Republican budget, 100 percent of Superfund funding comes from taxpayers' pockets.
Cut health programs. The House Republican budget cuts $358 million from health programs in 2005 - providing $32 million less in appropriations than the Bush budget does in 2005, and $11.4 billion less over the next five years than needed to maintain purchasing power at this year's level. It also cuts Medicaid and SCHIP by $2.2 billion over the next five years.
Add More for special interests, not seniors. The Bush budget now includes $46 billion in special payments to HMOs - over $30 billion more than originally estimated - and does nothing to help seniors lower their prescription drug costs. Despite a new cost estimate for the Republican Medicare prescription drug bill of $534 billion, Republicans are refusing to hold down drug costs, refusing to let the government negotiate discounts for seniors, and refusing to allow Americans to import less expensive drugs from Canada.
Fails to include promised funding for education. The Bush budget provides $9.4 billion less for education than was promised in the No Child Left Behind Act; freezes the maximum Pell Grant; cuts funding for Perkins Loans; and cuts vocational education by 25 percent. And yet the House GOP budget provides only $479 million more for education and training in Fiscal 2005 than the Bush budget. Even if these funds were devoted entirely to No Child Left Behind, it would still leave the GOP budget almost $9 billion short of the amount promised.