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

To: Mr. Palau who wrote (708598)	10/24/2005 8:07:16 PM
From: pompsander	Respond to of 769667

Will the fiscally sound Republicans (remember, that is their reputation...at least until the past five years) actually do this? Stay tuned. news.yahoo.com Congress seeks cuts as debt hits $8 trillion By Richard Cowan 2 hours, 53 minutes ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in Congress will try to pass spending cuts this week, after war, anti-terrorism efforts, hurricanes and big tax cuts helped push the government's debt load through the $8 trillion mark. ADVERTISEMENT Sources in the House of Representatives said it likely would be mid-week before Republican leaders know whether they have enough support for spending reductions, including cuts in health programs for the elderly and poor, that go beyond the $35 billion sketched out last spring. Congress is also debating a Republican-backed plan for more tax cuts, mostly for the wealthy. The Senate is sticking to the $35 billion benchmark for spending cuts, amid pressure from conservatives in both chambers to cut more money to help pay for $62.3 billion in emergency aid for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For either approach to become law, Republicans, who hold a majority in both houses of Congress, will have to do it alone. Democrats opposed the Republican budget plan enacted last spring and none have said they are on board for a new round of cuts, coupled with the tax cuts. "I'm appealing to my colleagues in the majority, don't do this. Postpone this effort," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said on Monday. ENERGY COSTS, EMERGENCIES Reid contends Congress should not cut programs for the poor when energy prices are way up and the country is worrying about its ability to fully fund emergencies such as hurricane recovery and a potential avian flu pandemic. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget embraced half of Reid's request, saying Congress should put off passing $106 billion in tax cuts over five years while maintaining efforts to further cut federal spending. The group, which boasts former budget officials from Republican and Democratic ranks, complained that the Republican-passed budget plan "would allow for an increase in the deficit of $167 billion over the next five years." House conservatives want $50 billion, not $35 billion, in savings over five years from mandatory government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, plus some across-the-board spending cuts causing heartburn for moderate Republicans. Record debt is washing over the Treasury Department, recently breaching the $8 trillion mark in money owed to foreign governments, private investors and the Social Security retirement fund used to finance deficit-spending. Republicans, who also control the White House, have now presided over an increase in $2 trillion to the national debt over four years or so, despite contending that they are the only U.S. political party that practices fiscal discipline. Eight years of Democrat Bill Clinton's presidency resulted in around $1.6 trillion being added to the U.S. debt, but with the possibility of paying it all off by 2015. As they struggle to nail down more spending cuts, House Republicans likely will get a bill from the White House this week for billions more in spending for hurricane rebuilding and tools to fight avian flu.