John Spratt: “we received last week the budget of the United States, as requested by President Bush, for fiscal year 2006. And having…”

“we received last week the budget of the United States, as requested by President Bush, for fiscal year 2006. And having looked at it to some extent, I have to say we regret that it continues the same bad choices that have led to huge deficits and mounting debt during the last 4 years. For the third year in a row, the Bush administration's budget sets a record level deficit, $415 billion, and offers no plan to put the budget back in the black again. Unfazed by these deficits, the Bush administration proposes tax cuts on top of them which can only go to the bottom line and make the budget's bottom line worse. To offset a small portion of these plans, the Bush administration calls for cuts in services to students and veterans, small business and law enforcement, environmental protection and urban and rural development. And although most of these cuts are significant to those who will be taking the hit, they barely make a dent in the bottom line of the budget. Let us start and look at where we have been in order to appreciate where we are today.”