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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bush presents $3 trillion budget | Bush presents $3 trillion budget |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US President George W Bush has said his $3.1 (£1.6) trillion budget for 2009 will boost national security while stimulating economic growth. | |
| The plan includes the $145bn economic stimulus plan agreed with congressional leaders, as well as $70bn to continue funding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
| Against a worsening economic backdrop, it forecasts a deficit of over $400bn. | Against a worsening economic backdrop, it forecasts a deficit of over $400bn. |
| "Our budget protects America and encourages economic growth. Congress needs to pass it," Mr Bush said. | "Our budget protects America and encourages economic growth. Congress needs to pass it," Mr Bush said. |
| The BBC's Jamie Coomarasamy in Washington says domestic spending will be the focus of what are expected to be fierce election-year political battles over the budget. | |
| Mr Bush's plan to rein in federal health care programmes will be welcomed by fiscal conservatives, our correspondent says, but the Democrats are condemning the move as an attack on the middle class. | |
| 'Future problems' | |
| Speaking after he presented the annual budget request to his cabinet, Mr Bush described it as a "good, solid budget" that, if his policies were followed, would balance by 2012. | |
| He said: "It's a budget that keeps important objectives. One, it understands our top priority is to defend our country so we can fund our military as well as fund the homeland security. | |
| The budget proposal seeks savings from health care programmes | |
| "Secondly, the budget keeps our economy growing. It's essential that we make sure we deal with the uncertainties - the economic uncertainties - we face." | |
| Mr Bush said his proposal would cut "wasteful or bloated" spending and also urged Congress to make his tax cuts permanent. | |
| The Democrats criticised a spending plan they said did nothing to fix the government's growing deficit and which they warned would pile up problems for the next administration. | |
| "Today's budget bears all the hallmarks of the Bush legacy - it leads to more deficits, more debt, more tax cuts, more cutbacks in critical services," said Democratic House Budget Committee chairman John Spratt. | |
| Among the services squeezed under the plan are the government health care programmes Medicare and Medicaid, which help the elderly and the poor, and heating assistance for the poor. | |
| The budget covers the 2009 fiscal year, which starts on 1 October 2008. | |
| It forecasts a deficit of more than $400bn for the next two years - more than double the $162bn deficit for the 2007 fiscal year. |