So? What Else Is New?? 2007 Same Song, Second Verse

And trillions of $$ for more wars to create more dead, maimed, and mentally wounded sons and daughters of America, and trillions of $$ in tax cuts for the ultra rich.

House Budget Plan Ignores Bush Cuts to Medicare but Hits Veterans Health Care
March 30, 2006 – The budget cuts proposed by President Bush to Medicare and Medicaid did not make it through the House Budget Committee, which approved a $2.8 billion plan last night by a 22-17 vote - down party lines - of the Republican dominated, conservative-leaning committee. The bill goes to the full House next week.

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***Veterans, many of them senior citizens, did not fair so well. The House committee cut the budget for **medical care of veterans below even current levels for the **rest of the decade. Democrats complained that would be something like a $10 billion cut after inflation and the growth in the number of veterans seeking benefits that is expected in the years ahead.

The plan approved was written by Chairman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa), who acknowledged election year pressure favored rejection of Bush's proposed $65 billion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, crop subsidies and other politically sensitive programs. It does, however, trim spending for most Cabinet agencies.

Drawing the most fire from moderates and Democrats is a cut federal spending on education by more than $5 billion, about 7 percent. Democrats also fought for increased funding for port security, veterans programs, food stamps and homeland security.

They also opposed the deficit of $348 billion proposed by the plan for 2007 - $1 trillion through 2011. Some even said these estimates were too low, since there is no spending allocated for the war in Iraq after next year.
Rep. John Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.), was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the national debt would almost **double to more than $9 trillion under Bush's tenure in office, a natural result "from a fiscal policy that says you can have guns, butter, tax cuts too and never mind the deficit. ... It holds no real plan or prospect of balancing the budget.''

The recommendations from the Senate, approved earlier this month, also ignored the Bush-proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid