Bush Budget Plan a Headache for Congress

[deadparrot]

WASHINGTON - President Bush sent his GOP allies in Congress an austere budget for next year that is filled with political land mines and flush with difficult choices.

The document unveiled Monday clamps down on domestic programs favored by lawmakers and calls for politically perilous curbs to Medicare that promise to bog down in a Congress already poisoned by election-year politics.

"It's a heavy lift," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H. "There's no question it's going to be a challenge."

Despite the sacrifices called for in education, Amtrak, community development and local law enforcement grants, health research, and many other programs frozen or cut under his plan, Bush's $2.77 trillion blueprint forecasts a record $423 billion deficit for the current year and improves upon that figure in 2007 largely by lowballing cost estimates for the war in Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/budget

[TomInTib]

1. "lowballing cost estimates for the war in Iraq"? They wouln't do that...

would they?

[Lorien]

2. Didn't he already ask for what amounts to a bit over half a TRILLION

in additional defense spending? I think it came in three separate requests.

[TomInTib]

3. And they fired Larry Lindsay when he said it would cost $200 mil

Liars, criminals, idiots, frauds.

[radfringe]

4. everyone left behind except

the wealthy... smirk-boy is still pushing to make the wealthy-fare taxcuts permanent

[Hekate]

5. Headache? I hope it's a migraine for the Repubs from here to November.

Godless, soulless, bastards.

Hekate

[rodeodance]

6. Congress gave Jr blank checks--now we suffer--so let them suffer now

[deminks]

7. Bush Budget Sparks Bipartisan Protest

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-5599988,00.html


WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush, constrained by wars, hurricanes and exploding budget deficits, has sent Congress a 2007 spending plan that is garnering howls of pain from farmers, teachers, doctors and a wide array of other groups with special interests.

Democrats, as expected, pronounced the Republican president's budget plan dead on arrival. But many Republicans were equally sharp in their reservations about the $2.77 trillion spending blueprint the administration unveiled on Monday.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health ``scandalous'' while Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she was ``disappointed and even surprised'' at the extent of the administration's proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare.

Given the level of congressional frustration, administration witnesses, led by Treasury Secretary John Snow, were expected to face a tough sales job before various congressional committees on Tuesday.

Trouble in Paradise?

[Double T]

8. Trouble in Purgatory

[adigal]

9. Specter and Snowe will line up

like the good little Bush-whores they are, and vote for any budget Bush sends them.

So while I am glad they spoke out, let's not actually believe them.

[LynnTheDem]

10. "scandalous"

Yeah that's one word for the past 5 years of bush.

[Sadie5]

14. Snow and Spector

have bad habits such as speaking out against this and that. after Rove takes them aside and vows no more pork their way, they run like scared kittens, then vote with Bush.

[LynnTheDem]

17. Flip-flopping chickenshits. Normal for "conservatives"

Their "integrity" and "morality" are fluid.

[WinkyDink]

11. special interests

You know, like BEING HUMAN.

[Mithras61]

12. Oh man! They missed the aliterative opportunity!

The headline should read "Bush Budget Brings Bipartisan Bickering" :D

[stepnw1f]

13. Where the Hell is 2.7 Trillion Gonna Come from?

Seriously? From credit? So he wants us to default on our national debt! Fucking traitor!!!!!!!!!!

[booksenkatz]

15. The first sentence of that article is certainly misleading

It sounds as if the wars, hurricanes and ruinous deficits are something happening to him, something entirely out of his control... he's just a victim, dontcha know!
:grr:

[cyberpj]

16. But it will keep them busy and OFF HIS BACK while they argue about it. Duh

[catmandu57]

18. I hope it brings down this whole fucking charade

of a government. I hope there is such a throw the bums out mentality this November that we get a clean sweep, I don't give a good rat's ass what the party affiliation is, we've suffered too fucking much with the present liars, crooks, thieves, and whatever adjective you'd care to throw in.