Bush to Seek $419.3 Billion for U.S. Defense-Officials

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush plans to ask Congress next week for $419.3 billion in U.S. defense spending for 2006, a 4 percent increase over the current $401 billion military budget, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

That 2006 Pentagon request, part of a proposed federal budget expected to total about $2.5 trillion, does not include the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those costs in the current year are provided for by supplemental funding expected to total $105 billion.

The $419.3 billion draft 2006 Defense Department request for the fiscal year beginning next October includes only Pentagon spending, according to the U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified. It does not include spending by the Energy Department on U.S. nuclear weapons programs.

The Pentagon request will go to Congress on Monday with the Bush budget, which the White House budget director told Reuters on Thursday would be the tightest of the Bush presidency. Last year, Bush asked for a 7 percent increase in U.S. military spending to $401.7 billion for fiscal 2005.........

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7533743&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[whistle]

2. Of course, it's a fascism priority feed the military, starve the poor

[tridim]

3. Kim Jong Il would be proud

How does that missing 2 trillion the Pentagon stole from us figure in?

[Supersedeas]

11. missing the history lesson that the Soviets taught the world

[MichiganVote]

4. Are we doing armor now or not?

[EVDebs]

5. Only after they find the missing $2.3 Trillion they lost !

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/ 01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted."

[Harry S Truman]

6. They are all mad men!

WTF? What is that....$20,000 per second????
WHEN is someone going to start asking questions?

[EVDebs]

7. Find the missing $2.3 TRILLION ....FIRST !

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/ 01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

titled "War on Waste"

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted."

Find it ! Fast.

[DainBramaged]

8. I only have one question for everyone here

What are we defending?

Goodnight. Maybe when I wake up it will be 2144.

[roguevalley]

9. Congress needs to say no. Then what would the little dictator do?

[jimshoes]

10. We all need to say no!

Somehow we need to get the message across that the stupidity and theft must stop now whatever it takes. We are this country, not a handfull of thieves in Washington damn it. Stop pissing away the treasury.

[Rex]

12. billions on war, millions on education

who do they love?

[LynnTheDem]

13. America; Fascist Police State.

Cut spending for EVERYthing...except defense.

$400 billion. More than the rest of the world combined.

Wake up, America. BEFORE it's too late would be nice.

[leesa]

14. More theft....right into the pockets of "his base"...the ultra-wealthy

[Earth_First]

15. Yahoo link:

The request will not include money for wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Congress already has appropriated $25 billion for those this year, and the White House is planning to request another $80 billion soon.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/budget_defense

WILL NOT include monies to Iraq & Afghanistan? I wonder where this money will be spent to "spread democracy"?

[bluedog]

16. NOT ONE DAMN CENT

until they account for the money they lost.................time to demand accountability from this bunch of freaking crooks........

[hiley]

17. Bush to seek $419.3 Billion for Defense

Released (of course) Friday afternoon late !

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will ask Congress for $419.3 billion for the Pentagon (news - web sites) for next year, 4.8 percent more than this year's spending as the administration seeks to beef up and reshape the Army and Marine Corps for fighting terrorism.


The request will not include money for wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Congress already has appropriated $25 billion for those this year, and the White House is planning to request another $80 billion soon.

--snip--
The proposal will include restructuring and expanding the Army and adding more combat and support units for the Marine Corps. It reflects Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's efforts to transform the Cold War-style military into one that's more rapidly deployable to fight terrorist groups.


Under Bush's plan, defense spending would grow gradually, hitting $502.3 billion by 2011.
More from AP at yahoo news !
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20050204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/budget_defense

[TheFarseer]

Yeah, but welfare mothers are the reason we're in the red

I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

[Rose Siding]

more discussion here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1210233&mesg_id=1210233

[idlisambar]

4.8% hike?

But I thought Bush was now a budget hawk. :shrug:

[cornermouse]

No. No more money.

I think its time we started cutting the Pentagon's budget.

[shraby]

Let the Department of Defense use the

money they have "misplaced" and don't know where it went. Make them find it and they will have plenty money in their budget.

[cornermouse]

Agree 100%.

[merwin]

They keep saying we're still at war in Afghanistan...

Didn't we 'liberate' them and they've got a peaceful government now? At least according to shrub

[hiley]

Looking

for bin Laden he says, well kinda:crazy:

Do you think he really wants to find a bin Laden though ? Saudi you know .

I thought he was in Pakistan, however. Chimpy needs to keep troops there though coz' it is so close to
IRAN !

[david_vincent]

18. So if we issue 12-year olds dog tags now,

we'll be all set.

[hiley]

20. That is possible

because they are infiltrating Elementary Schools with "Be all you can " and all the other propaganda. It is so fucking sick !
:hurts:

[complain jane]

1. Yeah like the Hitler Youth.

Freaks.

[Turbineguy]

19. This is supposedly how

we defeated communism, by getting the Soviets to spend themselves into near oblivion.

The turrists learned well from us.

[Rose Siding]

21. Bush Seeks Cuts to Boost College Grants

WASHINGTON -- To get larger college grants to poor students, the Bush administration wants to shrink guaranteed aid to banks and end a popular loan program.
...
The new education details help clarify how Bush would pay for one of the biggest financial aid shake-ups in decades, one mostly built around Pell Grants for poor students. It amounts to a shifting of money that would require action from six congressional committees.

Bush wants to raise the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $4,550 over five years -- or $100 a year -- and end a $4.3 billion deficit fueled by surging demand in recent years. His budget would make the yearly increases mandatory rather than leave them at the discretion of Congress.
...
To help pay for it all, Bush wants to shrink a range of subsidies that the government pays to banks to encourage them to make low-interest loans, and to the agencies that insure the loans for the lenders. The savings would pay for more than half of the financial aid overhaul, said Sally Stroup, assistant secretary for postsecondary education.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-student-aid,0,3317425.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[idlisambar]

22. This seems like a good move

Any comments to the contrary? I don't know enough about it to understand the big picture but shifting funds to grants from loans seems like a good idea.

[ender]

23. theres a huge difference...

you can leverage actual cash into loans.

as in - for every one grant he crates, that money could be lveraged and loaned to (about) 20 students.

so, he's giving one more grant, but removing funding for 20 loans.

pure evil.

[natrat]

24. as usual the daily evil

[KaliTracy]

42. hmm.after several yrs of Freezing the Pell he's saying he's raising

it now? BS all the way, people.

BUSH RECORD ON PELL GRANTS:
Making Students Pay More for College

February 2, 2004
Bush Freezes Federal College Scholarship, or Pell Grant
"Just as college tuition is rising and the buying power of grants continues to erode, President Bush has frozen the maximum Pell Grant at $4,050 in his FY 2005 education budget. This is the 3rd year in a row that Bush has frozen or cut the maximum Pell Grant.

Despite Bush’s protests that restoring the buying power of the Pell Grant won’t stop rising college costs, he continues to ignore the tuition problem. Not only has he failed to address rising college tuition, but his budget makes college even more expensive by freezing or cutting student aid and taxing students."

Bush Breaks his Promise to Increase Maximum Pell Grant to $5,100
"While campaigning in 2000, President Bush, pledged to make college more affordable and accessible by increasing the maximum Pell Grant for college freshman to $5,100.

Not only has President Bush broken his promise to increase the maximum Pell award to $5,100, but he’s actually frozen or cut the maximum Pell grant for the past three years."

more here: http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pellgrantsummary.html

[AnnInLa]

25. Bush's Budget Would Slash Farmer Funds

Bush's Budget Would Slash Farmer Funds
Email this Story

Feb 4, 4:12 PM (ET)

By LIBBY QUAID

Google sponsored links
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www.TheSoftEdge.com
http://apnews.com//article/20050204/D881UAD00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will propose cutting farmers' federal payments and other agriculture supports by more than a half-billion dollars next year, a plan already drawing warnings from Congress.

Producers would see payments drop by 5 percent, a senior administration official said Friday. The ceiling on those payments, $360,000 annually, would drop to $250,000, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the budget won't be released until Monday.

The administration's goal is to cut the deficit, projected to rise to $427 billion this year, in half by 2009. Farm programs would be cut by at least $587 million next year and $5.7 billion over 10 years.

Payments to farmers and other aid to them had been projected to drop from $24.06 billion this year to $19.64 billion in 2006, but Bush's proposal would push spending down to $19.05 billion.

[Tempest]

26. They voted for him

They should suffer along with the rest of us.

[indianablue]

27. Fucking eh they did.

These freaks love free market but they hold their hand out to any government handout that comes their way. If the farming industry was free market they would all our of business except for a few corporate farmers.

God I hate these fucking freaks.

[bluedog]

30. remember the raw corn

when he was somewhere with the farmers.
the bales of hay and the hee haws the hooting and cheering they gave him when he finished his stump speech?

he shit on your guys.................put your boots back on boys.....bushs' shit runs deep!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

40. I wonder what these God fearing salt of the earth types feel about

* now?

[n2mark]

29. I agree with you

they voted for him, let them suffer.

[mom cat]

37. Sounds like the lowering of the cap will affect the richest agri-biz

leeches...I also hope that dimson completely alienates farmers. They don't like to be taken for fools. Farmers have traditionally been a seedbed for progressive politics, especially when they are riled up.

[Spinzonner]

28. What kind of 'farmers' are these

My heart is not going to weep for ADM and Conagra

[Turbineguy]

31. This will be a benifit to corporate

farming.

[BrotherBuzz]

32. First in, first out....

I seem to remember that one of the first acts Bush* did in 2001 was to bolster the Farm susidy thingy, assuring their vote in 2004. Well, guess what, he don't need their vote anymore. Mission accomplished! Farmers, you been had.

[TheFarseer]

33. I wouldn't be opposed to a cap

on the total amount of subsidy money one entity can receive. I don't have much sympathy for guys that farm half of two counties or corporate farms. I don't want to see the farm program cut in any other way, though. Farm subsidies are the only reason farmers can stay in business.

[murray hill farm]

34. and does this include..

cutting the subsidies to tobacco companies and their farms? I doubt it!!

[mod mom]

35. when are these groups going to realize he just uses constituencies, grabs

their votes then shits on them. Look what he did to the military, talked big talk then sent them to battle w/o armour. All he cares about is his corrupt top 1% yet about 50% voted of the population voted for him. suckers!

[2Design]

36. wow most of the farms I saw had W signs - they did it to themselves

I am sure there were some Kerry - the majority were W and brought this down on all

[WestMichRad]

38. Don't most ag support payments

...already go to corporate farming interests?

The farmers already get screwed year after year by US policies... and yet the majority still vote for the Repukes.

Another reason why there are fewer family farms every year.
:-(

[amandabeech]

39. Also, subsidies only cover certain field crops,

like corn, wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans and, I think, sugar.

Subsidies do not cover minor fields crops nor do they cover fruits, vegetables and animal husbandry (at least directly).

I favor help to small to mid-size farms of all types owned and operated by families or two or three owner-operators no matter what the legal form of ownership.

I think that it is a wise idea to maintain a good number of citizens who know how to farm, particularly in light of the possibility of Peak Oil which may make smaller-scale farming the most productive choice. There's a lot more to it than sticking a few seeds in the soil.

[VegasWolf]

41. Well, it takes a lot of money to run a draft.n/t