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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: shadowman who wrote (15941)	7/11/2004 11:36:51 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

Bush to Miss Deadline for Budget Deficit Forecast By Adam Entous WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will miss a July 15 deadline to release a new budget report expected to show improvement in the deficit ahead of next month's Republican political convention, officials said on Friday. Administration officials denied the delay was politically motivated to give the White House budget office more time to incorporate better-than-expected tax revenue figures into their forecasts. They said they would release the new budget projections as soon as they are completed. Release of the report could provide Bush with a political boost at the Republican convention, which opens Aug. 30, by allowing him to cite progress reining in record budget deficits. Officials said the report is expected to show a smaller deficit this year than the White House initially forecast, despite extra Iraq war spending. They said the report will also show Bush is on track to cut the deficit in half over the next five years. Officials said the White House Office of Management and Budget sought the extra time to update their budget forecasts in light of improving economic conditions. "The fact is we're looking at all the numbers in this to make sure the report is as accurate as possible," an official said. "We're going to complete it as quickly as we can." When he unveiled his fiscal 2005 budget blueprint in February, Bush set the goal of bringing this year's record $521 billion shortfall down to $364 billion in fiscal 2005, to $241 billion in 2007 and then to $237 billion in 2009. The budget shortfall hit a record $374 billion last year due to a weak economy, higher spending for defense and domestic security and tax cuts won by Bush totaling $1.7 trillion over 10 years. The federal government remains on track for a record annual deficit in fiscal 2004, which ends Sept. 30. reuters.com and yet, nationwide budget cuts have left this country vulnerable and rendered Homeland Security an oxymoron: BAY AREA Budget cuts left cops' weapons storage depot accessible San Mateo County sheriff says he didn't know alarm was broken at site of theft Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, July 9, 2004 sfgate.com Hidden in remote areas under tight lock and key, the storage depots where law enforcement agencies keep their explosives are meant to stay out of the public eye. But following the weekend theft of 200 pounds of explosives from bunkers in the hills of the Peninsula, officials are spending a lot of time talking about security breakdowns at a complex that they thought was a well-kept secret. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Department, which shared the site near Crystal Springs Reservoir with the San Francisco Police Department, said Thursday that there was no electricity at the storage depot and that the solar- powered alarm system designed to protect the site was broken. "I didn't know the alarm wasn't working," Sheriff Don Horsley said Thursday. His staff, however, did know, he said. And though the department was supposed to patrol the site, Undersheriff Greg Munks said budget cuts had forced authorities to eliminate one patrol beat in the area two years ago. He said deputies assigned to cover other areas had stretched their geographic beats to monitor the site. In light of last weekend's theft, Munks said, the department will move the explosives depot to a spot that is easier to monitor, install electric alarms and perhaps put in surveillance cameras. "The big lesson is that we need to make sure whatever site we choose is more secure than the last site," Munks said. Federal law does not require explosive storage depots to be equipped with alarms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives does set other standards, such as a minimum distance from populated areas and fortifications for magazines. "We met all the ATF regulations," Munks said, adding that the thief had gone to great lengths to defeat a series of fences and heavy-duty locks using an acetylene torch.