Bush budget gives to military, takes from poor

Bush budget gives to military, takes from poor
ANDREW TAYLOR

Associated Press and Guardian News Service

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George Bush unveiled a big boost in military spending as part of a $2.9-trillion (U.S.) budget yesterday, while calling for cuts in programs cherished by Democrats, including health care, research, Amtrak, and heating subsidies for the poor. In control of Congress for the first time in a dozen years, Democrats accused Mr. Bush of trimming domestic programs, using smoke and mirrors to predict a balanced budget in five years and ignoring a hidden tax threat to middle-class families.

"The President has simply offered more of the same, proposing a budget that cuts . . . from Medicare and Medicaid, while sending $240-billion more in American taxpayer dollars to Iraq," said Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, an Illinois Democrat. "This is not a tradeoff the American people want."

Mr. Bush touted his fiscal blueprint as "protecting the homeland and fighting terrorism, keeping the economy strong with low taxes and keeping spending under control." He said after meeting with his cabinet, "Congress needs to listen to a budget which says no tax increase, and a budget, because of fiscal discipline, that can be balanced in five years."

He said $235-billion is needed for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next year and a half, bringing total Pentagon funding for the wars to $662-billion. But his budget assumes, at least on paper, that no additional war funding will be needed after 2009. Spending on the Iraq war is now destined to top the total cost of the 13-year-long war in Vietnam. That war cost about $614-billion at today's prices.

Iraq now accounts for well over half of the current year's projected deficit of $244-billion.

Mr. Bush also proposed modest cuts to the rapidly growing Medicare and Medicaid health-care programs, but failed to address chronic shortfalls in future years that would force painful sacrifices on beneficiaries.

Instead, Medicare providers such as hospitals, nursing homes and home-care providers would face payment cuts, while higher-income beneficiaries would pay greater premiums.

Less ambitious Bush proposals went nowhere when Republicans controlled Congress last year, and the budget process broke down amid election-year acrimony. Health-care providers promised to lobby hard to kill the proposals again.

"Today's budget is devastating news for children, seniors and the disabled who depend on the Medicare and Medicaid programs," said Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association.

Mr. Bush proposes to eliminate or sharply reduce 141 federal programs totalling $12-billion. But Congress has ignored these same recommended cuts in the past, including an attempt last year to kill the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides nutritionally balanced boxes of food to about a half-million poor people per month.

Democrats also promised to restore cuts from low-income heating subsidies, Head Start for preschool children, rural health programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by shifting some portion of Mr. Bush's big defence spending increase to domestic programs.

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