Bush pledges to slow 'unrestrained growth' in spending

Americans took their first full measure of President Bush Tuesday night, as the new President pitched his economic program--and governing philosophies--to a joint session of Congress and perhaps the largest national television audience of his young presidency.

At the heart of his presentation, the 43rd President moved aggressively to lock in support for his $1.6 trillion tax cut plan, saying the cut would also allow the nation to pay off $2 trillion of the $3.2 trillion publicly held debt over the next decade and set aside a $1 trillion contingency fund for unforeseen circumstances.

Bush also pledged to slow the rate of growth of federal spending. "Unrestrained government spending is a dangerous road to deficits, so we must take a different path," he said. "The other choice is to let the American people spend their own money to meet their own needs, to fund their own priorities and pay down their own debts."

Bush in his speech called for a "very responsible" 4 percent increase in discretionary spending in fiscal 2002 along with an $81 billion increase next year in spending on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs.

Bush said his budget would include $5.7 billion for increased spending on military pay and benefits, health care and housing; a $1 billion increase for the Veterans Affairs Department to improve veterans' health care and speed decisions on benefit claims; and $4.9 billion over five years for upkeep on national parks.

The White House also has put together a Medicare modernization plan that includes $153 billion in new spending over 10 years and a new prescription drug plan, the President informed GOP congressional leaders in a meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported. Bush also announced that he intends to seek $56 million more for the EPA than was included in President Clinton's fiscal 2001 budget.

The President made a strong appeal for education reform and investment, saying, "The highest percentage increase in our budget should go to our children's education." He called for tripling spending on reading education--costing $5 billion over the next five years.

Earlier Tuesday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., said he expected the President's budget to recommend anywhere from $660 billion to $665 billion in total discretionary spending for FY02--allowing for an increase over last year roughly in line with the rate of inflation.

Young said he is comfortable with that range--and with the idea of targeting spending increases on the priority areas highlighted by the President, namely defense, education and medical research.

"I'm satisfied that his priorities will be in line with my priorities," Young said. The chairman added that he is equally prepared for the belt-tightening that may be required in other discretionary accounts to fund Bush's priorities.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Tuesday afternoon told reporters, "I support what the President is trying to do." But ever the guardian of appropriators' prerogatives, Stevens said, "I'm not worried about this. The process is still the process. The Constitution still gives us the power of the purse."

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., devoted most of their televised response to Bush's speech to a stinging critique of Bush's economic plans, promising to "fight, and fight hard" against proposals that they said "threaten the prosperity of all Americans."

Gephardt added: "If what we heard tonight sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Instead, the Democrats offered a budget outline that includes $900 billion in tax cuts, walls off "every dollar of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds," and adds a prescription drug plan and funding for other priorities while continuing to pay down the debt.