Bush Calls Democrats' Budget `Irresponsible,' Threatens Veto

President George W. Bush criticized Democrats' ``irresponsible'' handling of the federal budget, threatening to veto spending bills he deems excessive to prevent a return to rising deficits.

Congressional Democrats last month agreed on a budget plan for the coming year that would provide the biggest increase in domestic spending in at least three years and was more than $21 billion more than the $933 billion in spending for 2008 that the White House requested in February.

``This tax-and-spend approach puts our economic growth and deficit reduction at risk,'' Republican Bush said in his weekly radio broadcast. ``I put Democratic leaders on notice that I will veto bills with excessive levels of spending.''

Bush said he can count on the support of at least 147 Republicans in the House of Representatives who have pledged to work on fiscal discipline. ``These 147 members are more than one-third needed to sustain my veto of any bills that spend too much,'' he said.

The budget deficit in the first eight months of the 2007 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, totaled $149 billion, 34 percent smaller than the $227 billion shortfall through May of fiscal 2006. The government bridges budget gaps by selling Treasury debt.

$200 Billion Shortfall

For all of this year, the Bush administration is forecasting a budget shortfall of about $200 billion, higher than the Congressional Budget Office's expectation of a $150 billion deficit, which would be the smallest deficit this decade.

``The Democrats in Congress are trying to take us in a different direction,'' Bush said. ``They've passed a budget that would mean higher taxes for American families and job creators, ignore the need for entitlement reform, and pile on hundreds of billions of dollars in new government spending over the next five years.''

In today's address, Bush said his administration's almost $2 trillion in tax cuts have fueled 45 consecutive months of economic growth, an expansion that has helped create 8 million jobs and record levels of tax revenue for the Treasury.

U.S. government receipts -- mostly individual income, corporate and Social Security tax collections -- totaled $1.67 trillion during the first eight months of fiscal 2007, an increase of 7.7 percent from $1.55 trillion in the same period a year earlier.

In fiscal 1998-2001, the Treasury posted yearly budget surpluses. ``By keeping taxes low and restraining federal spending, we can meet my plan to have a balanced budget by 20012,'' Bush said.

Bush said he wants lawmakers to stop funding special projects, a legislative practice known as earmarking.

``In the weeks ahead, my administration will continue pushing for earmark reform and holding the line on federal spending,'' he said. ``The American people do not want to return to the days of tax and spend policies.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Murray in Washington at brmurray@bloomberg.net
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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
RESOURCES:
An informative Blog thread about defining "Entitlements" in American POlicy:
http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=5444
Recent article summarizing Entitlement program reform ideas:
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBOQ9GLC2F.html
Earmarks!:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR200602...

This is a brief article with lots of issues embedded in and referred to in it. What should the federal government's priorities be? Should the priorities be different while the U.S. is at war? How?

Should the federal government be involved in retirement savings for individuals (Social Security)?

How does lowering taxes create more revenue for the federal government?