Bush's Secret Budget: $4.5 Trillion in Secret Spending

BUSH FICTION: Bush is fiscally responsible.

FACT: In just four years as President, George Bush has overseen the largest spending increase since World War II. Adjusted for inflation, total spending has increased by $354 billion annually – that’s the largest four-year spending increase since World War II. Of this total, $98 billion annually is in non-defense discretionary programs – the largest four-year spending increase on record.

BUSH'S BROKEN PROMISES ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

In 2000, America had a historic opportunity to use surpluses to save Social Security and Medicare. Instead, George W. Bush squandered the surplus on a large tax cut for the wealthy. Today’s Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report shows that under President Bush the outlook for Social Security and Medicare has not improved and in fact gotten worse under President Bush. Also, George W. Bush has a secret budget plan for the future that will spend more than $4.5 trillion.

TAX CUTS COST MORE THAN THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS SAVING SOCIAL SECURITY: Instead of taking advantage of his historic opportunity, George Bush passed tax cuts for the wealthy that cost three times as much as the 75 year deficit in Social Security. The cost of making the tax cuts permanent is more than the cost of saving Social Security and Medicare combined for the next 75 years. [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “Understanding the Social Security and Medicare Projections,” 3/22/04]

THE TRUE COST OF THE MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL MAKES THINGS WORSE: As has been widely reported, the Bush Administration hid from Congress and the American people the true cost of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. That extra $136 billion only exacerbates the fiscal challenges facing Medicare. [Wall Street Journal, 3/18/04]

GEORGE BUSH HAS WORSENED MEDICARE, BILL CLINTON IMPROVED IT: When Bill Clinton took office, Medicare was scheduled to go broke in 1999 and because of the fiscal responsibility and prudent choices of the Democrats, the program was strengthened nearly 30 years to 2029. Today’s Trustees report revealed that Medicare will be insolvent by 2019 – ten years earlier than its solvency date under President Clinton and seven years earlier than last year’s estimate. [Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports, 2001 & 2004].

GEORGE BUSH HASN’T IMPROVED SOCIAL SECURITY: Both Social Security and Medicare are projected to be unable to pay the full benefits they have promised to members of the baby boom generation. The new Trustees Report projects that Social Security will be insolvent by 2042 George Bush has done nothing to extend the solvency of Social Security or Medicare.

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BUSH’S SECRET BUDGET: $4.5 TRILLION IN SECRET SPENDING

George Bush is only going to put entitlements more at risk with his secret budget plan.

· $411 BILLION – THE MISSING YEARS IN THE BUSH BUDGET. George W. Bush only tells Americans about 5 years of his spending plans – although his campaign’s false attacks estimates Kerry’s plans over 10 years. Including the missing five years adds $411 billion to the Bush budget.

· $280 BILLION – IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN AND WAR ON TERROR. Despite the fact that the Administration’s acknowledgement that we are not leaving Iraq or Afghanistan any time soon, the President’s budget does not have any money to pay for the war on Iraq. This could cost $280 billion over ten years, based on analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

· $936 BILLION – EXTENDING THE TAX CUT FOR THE WEALTHY. Bush buries the cost of extending his tax cut for the wealthy. But you can find the number buried in his budget – and it’s nearly $1 trillion. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office thinks extending the tax cut will cost even more.

· $555 BILLION – 455 EXPLCIT ADDITIONAL SPENDING INCREASES IN THE BUDGET. Look through the fine print of the Bush budget, and you’ll find 455 explicit spending increases for programs, not even including defense or homeland security. The price tag for these programs adds up to $555 billion. Like the Bush “analysis” of the Kerry budget this does not count any budget cuts or savings that Bush proposes.

· $2,005 BILLION – SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM. President Bush has repeatedly called for Social Security reform, but his budget does not have any money for it. His Commission developed a plan – all but endorsed in his Economic Report of the President – that the independent Social Security actuary estimated would add over $2 trillion to the deficit from 2005 to 2014.

· $250 BILLION – MARS MISSION. The President does not include the full ten year cost of the Mars mission in his budget, including it could add $250 billion.

· $24 BILLION – ENERGY BILL. The President promised to sign the Congressional energy bill, costing $31 billion. But he only included $7 billion for energy in his budget. Thus another $24 billion is missing.