THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Congress began
to debate its annual spending bills. The American people expect us to
spend their tax dollars wisely, or not at all, and to pursue pro-growth
economic policies that will allow us to reduce the deficit while keeping
our economy strong.
The President's Message
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A Libertarian Response
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| THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This
week, Congress began to debate its annual spending bills. The
American people expect us to spend their tax dollars wisely, or
not at all, and to pursue pro-growth economic policies that will
allow us to reduce the deficit while keeping
our economy strong. |
The President here
claims (in the very last few words) that just the right amount of
government spending will keep the "economy strong." All
government spending weakens the economy. Instead of you
spending your money where you want, keeping that part of the
economy strong that you want kept strong, your money
is taken from you and given to special interests, who cannot
compete in a Free Market, and have to ask Congress to take your
money from you by force.
Government, of course, takes its "cut" before passing
along your money to the special interests. |
| Since my Administration's tax
relief was implemented four years ago, our economy has added more
than eight million new jobs, and we've experienced 45 months of
uninterrupted job growth. With more Americans working and more
businesses thriving, our economy has produced record
tax revenues. The Treasury Department recently reported
that this year's Federal revenues are up eight percent over last
year. As a result, our Nation's budget deficit is about one-third
lower than it was at this time last year. |
It is true that
cutting taxes helps the economy.
But even though there have been "tax cuts," the
government is getting more money in taxes.
More taxes won't reduce the deficit unless there is less
spending. |
| In addition to pursuing
pro-growth tax relief, my Administration is working to reduce the
Federal deficit through strict fiscal discipline. Over the past
three years, we have met the urgent needs of our Nation while
holding the growth of annual domestic spending close to one
percent -- well below the rate of inflation. I've also proposed
policies that would slow
the unsustainable growth of our most serious long-term
fiscal challenge: entitlement spending. By keeping taxes low and
restraining Federal spending, we can meet my plan to have a
balanced budget by 2012. |
All the President
is proposing is to slow
the growth of spending, not cut spending.
Spending is still growing. |
| The Democrats in Congress are
trying to take us in a different direction. 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. This tax-and-spend approach puts our economic
growth and deficit reduction at risk. |
Politicians from both
parties promise voters goodies from the pockets of other voters.
It is a system of vote-buying. The money is always inefficiently
spent, and it is always spent on things the general public does
not want money spent on -- otherwise they would have, and special
interests would not be going to Washington to have bureaucrats
take the money by force from other voters. |
| For months, I've warned the
Democrats in Congress that I will not accept an irresponsible
tax-and-spend budget. I put Democratic leaders on notice that I
will veto bills with excessive levels of spending. And
I am not alone in my opposition. In the House, 147 Republicans
have pledged to support fiscal discipline by opposing excessive
spending. These 147 members are more than one-third needed to
sustain my veto of any bills that spend too much. |
The President has not
vetoed any of the excessive spending bills over the last six years
of his Presidency. He may now actually veto a spending bill, but
only because Democrats now control Congress. It is a purely partisan
charade.
How
Bush Bankrupted America |
| Another key area of difference
between my Administration and the Democratic leadership in
Congress is my support for meaningful earmark reform. Earmarks are
spending provisions that are slipped into bills by individual
members of Congress, often at the last hour and without discussion
or debate. It's not surprising that this leads to unnecessary
Federal spending. And the problem is growing. Over the last
decade, the number of earmarks has more than tripled. |
A
Reality Check on Earmark Reform |
| In January, I proposed reforms
that would make the earmark process more transparent, end the
practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language that
is never included in legislation, and cut the number and cost of
earmarks by at least half. My Administration has also developed
the government's first public database of earmarks, and we've
posted them on a website: earmarks.omb.gov
. On this website, we will also be releasing information on new
earmarks, because this Administration wants you to see where your
tax dollars are being spent. |
The
Party of Big Government
Earmark Victory May Be A Hollow One
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| After I announced my earmark
reforms in January, the House passed a rule that called for full
disclosure of earmarks. But in the past few weeks, Democratic
House leaders announced that they were abandoning this commitment.
Instead of full disclosure, they decided they would not make
public any earmarks until after Members had already voted on the
spending bills. This change would have allowed a small group of
lawmakers and their unelected staff to meet behind closed doors to
decide how and where to spend your tax dollars. I'm pleased to
report that earlier this week a group of House Republicans stopped
this plan and extracted a commitment from House Democrats to list
all earmarks in advance and give lawmakers a chance to strike
them. The American people need to hold House Democrats accountable
for keeping that commitment. |
Criticisms of the
Democrats are generally valid. But Republicans are not really any
different.
The Myth of
"Left and Right"
The Truth About Pork
Democrats really don't believe in Democracy. Democracy means
"rule by the people." So let The People keep their money
and spend it on the projects deemed most important by The
People. Instead of trying to get The People to vote for a
government spending project, encourage The People to spend that
money directly. It is more efficient, and more democratic.
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| In the weeks ahead, my
Administration will continue pushing for earmark reform and
holding the line on Federal spending. The American people do not
want to return to the days of tax and spend policies. They expect
accountability and fiscal discipline in Washington, D.C. And I
will use my veto to stop tax increases and runaway spending that
threaten the strength of our economy and the prosperity of our
people. |
The Republicans have
been in complete control for six years -- White House, Congress,
and Supreme Court -- and government spending has increased
dramatically. If President Bush veto a spending bill it will not
be because he's against excessive spending -- which he's been
doing for six years -- but simply because it is the Democrats
who are doing the spending. |
| Thank you for listening. |
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