ECONOMY
Bush's Budget Games
Yesterday, after meeting with his economic advisers at the Treasury
Department, President Bush "vowed
to veto spending bills that exceed his targets" for the fiscal year 2008
federal budget while accusing congressional leaders "of plotting the largest
tax increase in history to fund an additional $205 billion in discretionary spending
over five years." "If
the majority in Congress gets it way, American families, small businesses
will face a massive tax hike," threatened Bush. "Today, the
President misled the nation about the budget Congress sent him," replied
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). "The New Direction Congress passed a responsible
budget that restores fiscal responsibility and makes up for the disastrous cuts
the President has made to vital services for Americans." Congress's budget plan
is only "seven-tenths of one percent different from his spending plan," she added.
In February, Bush presented a
$2.9 trillion spending plan to Congress, "proposing to spend billions more
to fight the war in Iraq while squeezing the rest of the government." The President's
plan, which "relies
on budgetary gimmicks and unrealistic assumptions" in order to appear fiscally
responsible, freezes "the entire domestic side of government" and would "force
cutbacks that most Americans would view as painful and unnecessary." Despite
Bush's budget bullying, Congress has stepped up to ensure that programs important
to the majority of Americans remain solvent.
PREVENTING CUTS TO VITAL PROGRAMS: Bush
argues that Congress' budget increases are extraneous because "his budget already
contains a
$60 billion increase in discretionary spending." But all of that increase
goes to just four out of 12 appropriations bills -- the four bills that fund
defense, veterans affairs, foreign affairs, and homeland security -- leaving
behind vital domestic programs "facing
substantial cuts" due to inflation and rising costs. Bush's
budget cuts hit important programs in education, health care, conservation,
low-income assistance, housing and even law enforcement. For instance, "the President’s
budget cuts overall funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), our
most important center for medical research, by $279 million below FY 2007." Congress
restored this cut but has drawn a
veto threat. Additionally, Bush's "proposal would result in $77
billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years,
and $280 billion over the next 10." Despite the need for America to move towards
sustainable energy independence, the White House "cut
research at the Department of Energy on energy efficiency and renewable energy
by $238 million below current-year levels, research on fossil fuels by $26 million,
and research on electricity by $23 million." Congress has moved to not only restore,
but to increase funding for such key priorities.
DOMESTIC CUTS HAVE CONSEQUENCES: In Minnesota last week, a bridge that
had been rated "structurally
deficient" by the U.S. Department of Transportation, collapsed, killing at
least five people and harming dozens more. Though the cause of the bridge's collapse
is still uncertain, the disaster has refocused attention on America's ailing
infrastructure, which Congress has sought to improve, much to Bush's chagrin.
Just two weeks before the collapse, the House Appropriations Committee explained
why it had added $631 million more than Bush requested to "legislation that would
fund the nation’s highway system." "It is well documented that our nation’s
transportation infrastructure is aging," said the committee. "Without
additional revenues for transportation investment, the nation will be unable
to reduce congestion, maintain aging bridges and highways, or expand capacity." Days
later, the White House threatened to veto the bill because of the funding increase.
Even though America's water infrastructure is in worse shape than its bridges,
the President proposed cutting funding for it by 20 percent -- a proposal that
the House rejected, instead adding $186 million. Without increased funding, America's
infrastructure will only deteriorate further.
BUSH'S 'DRUNKEN SAILOR' HYPOCRISY: "Receiving
a lecture on fiscal responsibility from President Bush is a little bit like
getting a lecture on the Freedom of Information Act from the Vice President," said
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) yesterday. "That is, it strains
credulity." As Hoyer points out, for Bush to all of a sudden preach strict fiscal
discipline is the height of hypocrisy, considering he "has presided
over the largest overall increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending since
Lyndon B. Johnson." In six years, the administration turned the "projected
10-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion when it took office" into "more
than $3 trillion in additional debt." During this time, Bush allowed Congress
to "spend
money like a drunken sailor," as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) recently described
it, by failing to veto a single spending bill sent to him when members of his
own party controlled Congress. Despite his call for spending restraint in the
current budget fight, Bush
is seeking a fresh round of tax cuts for corporations that would further
deprive revenue for important programs. Bush has no credibility when it comes
to fiscal responsibility -- only a penchant for irresponsibility and political
gamesmanship.
NATIONAL SECURITY -- REP. SESTAK: 'WE SHOULD
HAVE STOOD UP AND SAID NO' ON FISA BILL: In an interview with The
Progress Report, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) expressed
his disappointment with the recent revisions of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act. Over the weekend, Congress capitulated
to White House demands, and passed a FISA bill that unnecessarily expands
the power of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Sestak, who was one of 183
representatives to vote against the bill, told us, "This
is a time that I strongly believe, we should have stood up and said no. Attorney
General Gonzales, we’re not going to let you decide the guidelines
upon which you’ll listen in on Americans." Sestak, a
former highly ranked Naval officer, said he "learned that [intelligence
officers will] press a little extra to get that information they need. And
at times, constitutionally, they'll go over the edge. That’s what Congress
is to make sure, they don't go over the edge." Watch video of the interview here.
CIVIL RIGHTS -- PENTAGON AND CONGRESS WARM
UP TO REPEAL OF 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL': Top Pentagon officials and members
of Congress are beginning to "soften
their rhetoric" on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which bans
openly gay servicemembers. Since the policy was instituted in 1993, at
least 11,000 servicemembers, hundreds of whom had key
specialty skills such as training in Arabic, have been forced out of service.
With our currently overstretched armed forces, the military could lure as
many as 41,000 recruits if gays could serve openly. Navy Adm. Michael Mullen,
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman nominee, stated he was open to having
Congress debate whether DADT was still appropriate. "I'd love to have Congress
make its own decision with respect to that," Mullen recently said. His remarks
stand in contrast to those of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell in 1993,
who claimed the "presence of homosexuals in the force would be detrimental
to good order." Key conservatives in Congress such as Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME)
and John Warner (R-VA) have also expressed interest in revisiting the issue.
As of last week, five new lawmakers signed onto a House bill repealing the ban, bringing
the total to 131 -- including Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), Congress' highest-ranking
veteran. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also recognized
the contributions gay service members make to the military.
CONGRESS -- LEAHY SETS NEW DEADLINE FOR SUBPOENAS
OF WHITE HOUSE WIRETAPPING DOCUMENTS: Yesterday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT),
the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave "the White House another 12
days to hand over documents it requested nearly six weeks ago regarding the
administration's legal justifications for its warrantless wiretapping program." Leahy
initially issued the subpoenas on June 27. After the White
House missed the original due date of July 18, Leahy granted them an extension
until Aug. 1, which they also missed. In
a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, Leahy wrote, "despite
my patience and flexibility, you have rejected
every proposal, produced none of the responsive documents, provided no basis
for any claim of privilege and no accompanying log of withheld documents."
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President Bush is "scheduled to arrive
in Kennebunkport today, staying through the weekend for a wedding." The White
House says it is not a "vacation," but rather a "recess." The
Bushes will host French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Cecilia,
on Saturday.
"A soft-spoken teacher [who] posted the words 'Impeach
Bush' in a public garden" has been "cast as an outlaw." The Cleveland
Plain-Dealer reports "the case is emerging as a free-speech issue of interest
well beyond the boundaries of placid Portage County."
The New York Times notes that President Bush's unpopularity is taking a
toll on his father. "It
wears on his heart...and his soul," longtime aide Ron Kaufman said. Some "close
to the former president say it is clear that the father has been dissatisfied
with the performance of some of his son's aides, notably Donald H. Rumsfeld,
the former secretary of defense."
Bush "said yesterday that he is considering a fresh plan to cut tax rates
for U.S. corporations to make them more competitive around the world." With
most of his legislative agenda in tatters and "his strategy in Iraq under
bipartisan fire, Bush appears eager to return to familiar issues that animated
the beginning of his presidency and might
rally disaffected Republicans behind him again."
The effort to reduce the size of Guantanamo "has been hampered by a laundry
list of diplomatic, legal and political challenges, including the unwillingness
of some countries to accept detainees and concerns about human rights abuses
in others." The Pentagon has suggested a goal to release up to 150 of the
360 men, "which would leave about 210 who they say could be eligible for
war crimes trials or should
be held indefinitely."
"The space shuttle Endeavour roared into orbit Wednesday carrying teacher-astronaut
Barbara R. Morgan, who was finally
fulfilling the dream of Christa McAuliffe" and the rest of the Challenger
crew that befell tragedy in 1986.
"Migrants from Mexico and Central America are finding it harder to get jobs
and are living under a dramatically increased sense of siege," according
to a new study. The study "demonstrates for the first time with hard numbers
the impact
that the immigration debate in Washington is having on America's streets."
And finally: Fighting terror with a flashlight. "The Department of
Homeland Security is developing a new weapon to fight the bad guys: a
flashlight that makes a person throw up. ... The bright
light pulses, which vary in color and duration, induce disorientation,
vertigo and nausea."
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A major Chicago early-childhood program's "gains
in terms of reduced social-welfare costs already have far exceeded the
program's $5,000 per student-year cost to the Chicago public school system," according
to a recent study, "the first to affirm the long-term value of a large public
early-childhood enrichment program."
TEXAS: Texas
has 43 counties, the most of any state, that have a majority of minorities.
CALIFORNIA: Schools
in California will now "be required to have someone available who is trained
to assist diabetic children."
WYOMING:
New program will offer grants and other support intended to improve the quality
of child care in the state.
THINK
PROGRESS: Right-winger accuses an Iraq war veteran of "stabbing" his "fellow
men and women in uniform" in the back.
THINK
PROGRESS: REPORT: "The next few months" on Iraq that never end.
POLITICS
EXTRA: In order to counter an upcoming appearance by right-wing columnist
Ann Coulter, students at Xavier University are asking for $5 donations to student
groups "who represent the values Coulter vilifies in her speeches and writings."
ON
POLITICS: In Iowa yesterday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R)
equated his sons' campaigning for him to serving in the military.
"We’re going to win. We will. We will never surrender."
-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on the Iraq war, 4/18/07
VERSUS
"I'm not positive we can win this fight"
-- McCain, 8/7/07
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