Show ush's s 2009 budget would rival record federal deficit of 2004 Michael Abramo Abramowitz Jonathan The Washington Post President nt Bush will present a budget M Monday on d ay that would slow th the growth of Medicare an and cut or eliminate l an array o of dom domestic s lC programs but still anticipates a flood of f new red ink that will riV rival 1 the record deficits of his first tenn term administration o officials said Bushs Bush's fiscal 2009 budget would woul increase defense spending by 5 percent and put a modest amount of new e. e money oney into favored mItI initiatives such as veterans affairs education and homeland security But the president wants to dramatically slow the growth of big federal health programs reduce antiterrorism antiterrorism antiterrorism anti- anti terrorism graI grants ts for states and citi cities s and cut spending on poverty anti-poverty housing and social service programs program according to budget documents and interviews with officials throughout the federal government Even as he proposes restoring funding for the controversial Reading First program Bush will take aim at a number of education initiatives officials said The early literacy program Even Start would be eliminated as would grants to states for education technology technology careers and incarcerated youth Funding for forta ta a a college scholarship program named after Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd D would fall from 40 million to zero a symbolic shot at a fierce Bush critic The more than 3 trillion federal budget for 2009 that Bush will unveil is his final opportunity to shape the priorities of the government before leaving office a year from now Lawmakers and their aides say Bush has little leverage left to force his proposals on a recalcitrant Congress But even in the unlikely event that he were to get his way the budget deficit would jump sharply from billion in 2007 to about billion in 2008 and 2009 partly the result of the new economic stimulus plan Such deficits would rival the record deficit of billion of 2004 though administration allies argue that shortfalls of that size now represent a smaller share of the overall economy and are thus more manageable Still the new budget underscores Bushs Bush's inability to get control of spending over the course of his year seven-year tenure a failure that has concerned even his conservatives allies The problem is projected to get worse in coming years with the retirements of the baby- baby boom generation a big obstacle to the ambitious tax cutting tax tax or spending plans of the leading presidential contenders Alice who serve served d President Clinton as budget budge t out thai that director pointed Bush inherited a very large surplus but his legac y of view i i from a fiscal point having blown an opportunity ni nito to ameliorate the long rui i Y 1 budget deficits White House officials and allies acknowledge the term long-term problem but pin pine the e b blame ame on Congress for ignoring the presidents president's calls to control the growth of Social Security and Medicare The president reco recognized the big elephant in the room when it came to fiscal responsibility and he did everything he could to get Congress to address it but unfortunately Congress refused to deal with it said Al Hubbard who recently left his post as Bushs Bush's top economic policy adviser Administration aides said Bushs Bush's final year budget documents will very much reflect the major priorities of his first seven years keeping his tax cuts in place and adding significant increases for defense and Bush will push Congress to keep discretionary domestic spending programs just below 1 trillion next year with programs outside of defense and homeland security growing less than 1 percent The president had success last year using his veto to force lawmakers to trim 1 back spending bills but i this year Democrats are 1 better positioned to simply wait for the next president congressional aides said That may mean less i ferocity th than n usual in the 1 budget battle as both sides i wait to see the results of bf 1 Novembers November's election But th e growth o such as Medicare and Medicaid are on automatic i pilot unless Congress writes a law to restrain them a move Bush wants but one that appears highly unlikely A Bush plan to slow the growth gro of Medicare would save S billion over five years and fully 43 billion of that would come from Medicare Advantage the private managed care program that competes with the run government-run fee- fee service for-service program for the elderly an administration official said Bush has defended Medicare Advantage from cuts proposed by Democrats ts but this year a semo senior administration official said he will propose payment freezes to health-care health providers that will affect all aspects of Medicare ongoing wars in Iraq a and d Afghanistan and potential future conflicts |