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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gordon A. Langston who wrote (479136)	10/21/2003 2:24:25 AM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 769667

The old Republican switcheroooooooo UPDATE - U.S. posts record $374.22 bln budget gap in 2003 Monday October 20, 6:54 pm ET By Jonathan Nicholson (Adds reaction, details, byline) WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted its largest budget gap in history in the just-ended 2003 fiscal year, amassing $374.22 billion in red ink, the Treasury Department said on Monday. That broke the previous record of $290.4 billion in the 1992 budget year. As a percentage of the economy, the deficit totaled 3.5 percent, the largest since 1993. Bush administration officials warned the deficit, which they blame on sluggish government revenues and rising expenses related to the war on terrorism, may be even larger in the current 2004 budget year, which began Oct. 1. "Although the deficit is still projected to increase in 2004, and will likely exceed $500 billion even with a strengthening economy, we can put the deficit on a responsible downward path if we continue pro-growth economic policies and exercise responsible spending restraint," said Joshua Bolten, who heads the White House's Office of Management and Budget, in a statement issued with the budget figures. The September numbers, while well below the White House's official forecast in July for a $455 billion budget gap, were close to Wall Street and Congressional Budget Office estimates. For the year, the government brought in $1.782 trillion in in revenues. Individual income taxes, the largest source of federal revenues, and were down about 7.5 percent from 2002. Spending was up sharply, as federal outlays grew by 7.2 percent, to $2.156 trillion. On Capitol Hill, Republicans portrayed the final figures as welcome news, noting they were down from the July estimate. "It is encouraging that the final numbers are better than expected a few months ago, and is a sign the President's economic plan is beginning to have an impact - particularly on the revenue side," said Don Nickles, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. However, several Wall Street budget watchers had dismissed the $455 figure as far too pessimistic and speculated the administration wanted to see an upside fiscal "surprise." The July review had included a downward revision of revenues by $15 billion to deal with "revenue uncertainty." "The White House attempted to be as conservative as possible because five of the past six times it has overestimated revenues and underestimated the deficit. This was an effort to be conservative," White House spokesman Trent Duffy told Reuters. Democrats remained unimpressed. "President Bush has taken us from the biggest surplus in the nation's history to the biggest deficit in the nation's history in just three years," said Kent Conrad, ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. In 2000, the government posted a record $236.92 billion surplus.

To: Gordon A. Langston who wrote (479136)	10/21/2003 2:24:31 AM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

The old Republican switcheroooooooo UPDATE - U.S. posts record $374.22 bln budget gap in 2003 Monday October 20, 6:54 pm ET By Jonathan Nicholson (Adds reaction, details, byline) WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted its largest budget gap in history in the just-ended 2003 fiscal year, amassing $374.22 billion in red ink, the Treasury Department said on Monday. That broke the previous record of $290.4 billion in the 1992 budget year. As a percentage of the economy, the deficit totaled 3.5 percent, the largest since 1993. Bush administration officials warned the deficit, which they blame on sluggish government revenues and rising expenses related to the war on terrorism, may be even larger in the current 2004 budget year, which began Oct. 1. "Although the deficit is still projected to increase in 2004, and will likely exceed $500 billion even with a strengthening economy, we can put the deficit on a responsible downward path if we continue pro-growth economic policies and exercise responsible spending restraint," said Joshua Bolten, who heads the White House's Office of Management and Budget, in a statement issued with the budget figures. The September numbers, while well below the White House's official forecast in July for a $455 billion budget gap, were close to Wall Street and Congressional Budget Office estimates. For the year, the government brought in $1.782 trillion in in revenues. Individual income taxes, the largest source of federal revenues, and were down about 7.5 percent from 2002. Spending was up sharply, as federal outlays grew by 7.2 percent, to $2.156 trillion. On Capitol Hill, Republicans portrayed the final figures as welcome news, noting they were down from the July estimate. "It is encouraging that the final numbers are better than expected a few months ago, and is a sign the President's economic plan is beginning to have an impact - particularly on the revenue side," said Don Nickles, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. However, several Wall Street budget watchers had dismissed the $455 figure as far too pessimistic and speculated the administration wanted to see an upside fiscal "surprise." The July review had included a downward revision of revenues by $15 billion to deal with "revenue uncertainty." "The White House attempted to be as conservative as possible because five of the past six times it has overestimated revenues and underestimated the deficit. This was an effort to be conservative," White House spokesman Trent Duffy told Reuters. Democrats remained unimpressed. "President Bush has taken us from the biggest surplus in the nation's history to the biggest deficit in the nation's history in just three years," said Kent Conrad, ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. In 2000, the government posted a record $236.92 billion surplus.