Bush to propose spending freeze (Wash Times)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040122-113950-1435r.htm

President Bush will propose an increase of less than 1 percent for federal programs not related to defense or homeland security, effectively freezing discretionary spending in the next budget, after coming under fire from conservatives to control runaway spending.

But the president will propose increasing governmentwide homeland security funding by 9.7 percent in the fiscal 2005 budget, and the military budget is expected to increase by a small amount.

"This is going to be an austere budget," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said of the budget that Mr. Bush will send to Congress on Feb. 2.

The less-than-1 percent growth will be the smallest since Mr. Bush took office in 2001 — and the lowest since his father, President Bush, proposed his fiscal 1993 budget.

<snip>

Some fiscal conservatives, who sharply criticized the president and congressional Republicans this week for spending like "drunken sailors," said the proposal leaked yesterday is a step in the right direction so long as Mr. Bush follows through.

[aquart]

1. So he's starving children, the elderly, vets, universities....

Golly. Guess there ain't gonna be no job training.

[Dudley_DUright]

2. It is not spending that is decimating the budget

it is the ruinous tax cuts that he now wants to make permanent. Someone buy this guy a calculator. Howard Dean is right, republicans don't know how to manage money.

[PaDUer]

6. He's in dire need

of a psych eval. From day one, he's been on a constant campaign traveling around, vacations, at our expense..and you know we paid for pickles facejob!

[girl gone mad]

9. It's the tax cuts

and the spending, IMO. But, I don't believe for a minute that he willl make good on this election year promise.

[KissMyAsscroft]

3. So hes doing exactly what a lot of us have been saying he would..

and what more than a few people on this board have ridiculed me for suggesting he would do..

He wants this huge defecit, so he can cut all social programs. Period.

This was the plan from the beginning, and there are some people on this board that really need to wake up about the true intentions of Bush's spending.

[Hobarticus]

7. Agreed!

It's Neo-Con Economics 101: you'll never be able to flat-out cut programs completely, but it's politically safe to run up such a huge defecit that you can claim that you have to cut the funding.

I'm a believer, KissMyAsscroft. These bastards ARE that dark.

[Hobarticus]

4. Surprise, surprise...

Dollars to donuts this was the plan all along.

[UpInArms]

5. well, he froze

the working part of America's spending a long time ago.

[Democat]

8. Don't worry America, there will plenty of money for churches & Halliburton

Churches that agree with Bush, that is.

All others need not apply.

[displacedtexan]

10. Reagan redux

Remember? A handful of AIDS cases + no new spending, except for the military, and today there are 60 million AIDS cases worldwide.

Consequences, W! Of course, W doesn't give a flyin' freep.