[Already, a $10.5 billion check approved last week is] being used at an increasingly rapid pace, ... We're readying a second installment now. |
As GAO states in its letter, OMB did not advise agencies to withhold funds and OMB staff specifically instruct agencies not to improperly withhold funding in the case of cancellations. |
As we move forward we will of course be looking for opportunities to find savings on top of what we have already proposed. |
By far the bulk of new funding — 75% of it — has been to restore the hollowed-out military the president inherited, strengthen homeland defenses after 9/11, and fight the war on terror. These are essential investments that were required ... to protect our nation. |
Children who have lost a parent need every assistance and encouragement we can provide, and everything the federal government can do to encourage them to stay in school and get an education makes it that much more likely that they can succeed. |
Congress presented a bill certified by both chambers. It's been signed into law, and we consider the matter closed. |
Currently the federal government does share royalties with coastal statesmore than $3 trillion to date, in fact. Changing this amount only increases the budget deficit and diminishes the benefit the rest of the nation receives from these national resources. |
Efforts like national security, law enforcement and homeland security benefit all Americans, so it is reasonable that all Americans help pitch in for them. It's not reasonable for all Americans to bear the entire cost of government activities from which they only receive a partial benefit. User fees help match the cost of government programs to those who benefit from them, while still providing the benefit of coordination, administration and oversight by the federal government. |
If there are other ideas that are out there, we want to hear them. |
If we believe a policy is sound, we're going to continue to work to put it in place. Persistence pays off if you believe you're doing the right thing. |
Instead, the president's subsequent budgets have increased funding for all of these programs. The country can meet the goal of cutting the deficit in half and still invest in key programs for vulnerable Americans, and claims to the contrary aren't supported by the facts of recent budget history. |
It should be no surprise that two different organizations, using different analysts, different methodologies and different assumptions come to different math at the end of the day. Where there's no difference, however, is that both OMB and CBO forecast that we meet the president's goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009. |
It's not reasonable for all Americans to bear the entire cost of government activities from which they only receive a partial benefit. |
President Bush is committed to fostering an environment where innovation succeeds and small businesses can flourish. |
Spending restraint was a major priority in the budget process, and the proof is in the pudding. |