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"As the national organizer for two US tours of Iraqi trade unionists, I ensured that local organizers had the resources needed to make these events a success. NPP's fact sheets were by far one of the most useful tools we provided. Organizers across the country appreciated how these sheets brought the issue of the war home."

- Thomas Bacon, National Organizer

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Title: Federal Budget Year in Review 2007
URL: http://nationalpriorities.org/node/5997

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Federal Budget Year in Review 2007

Congress and the administration failed to agree on budget priorities this year. While the President announced an escalation of the Iraq War and requested nearly $200 billion for war funding in fiscal year 2008 alone, Congress tried repeatedly to expand health care for children. By December, only one of the 12 appropriation bills requiring approval, the defense bill, passed Congress without being vetoed by the President. Congress wrapped up the budget process with an omnibus spending bill which combined all other bills into one. It included numerous cuts to domestic spending programs, and included another $70 billion in unrestricted war spending.

Administration budget request proposed cuts in domestic spending

In February, the administration budget request proposed a $13 billion cut in domestic discretionary spending.¹ The budget also would have cut billions more in Medicare, Medicaid and other mandatory programs.

The request also planned to make the tax cuts, passed in earlier years, permanent. In fiscal year 2008, the wealthiest five percent will receive $92 billion in tax cuts, or seven times the amount of cuts to domestic discretionary spending.

Children’s health care and other domestic spending vetoed

In October and December, President Bush vetoed bills that would have extended and expanded S-CHIP, a children’s health care program.

President Bush also vetoed the Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriation bill passed by Congress in November. The President insisted on $6.7 billion of cuts to the bill, including everything from K-12 education to community health centers. Congress’ bill would have increased spending by $5.2 billion, or 3.5% after adjusting for inflation.² The administration’s cuts would have resulted in 1.4 million low-income families not able to receive heating or cooling assistance; 34,000 children cut from the Head Start program; and 1.2 million uninsured unable to receive care at community health centers.³

More for war

Along with the budget proposal, the administration requested an additional $100 billion in war spending for fiscal year 2007, and another $145 billion for fiscal year 2008. In July, the administration announced it was seeking another $5.3 billion in war spending. In October, it added another $45.9 billion to the request.

In May, Congress passed the request for additional spending for fiscal year 2007, bringing the total for the Iraq War alone to nearly half a trillion dollars. Had Congress passed the requests for fiscal year 2008, the Iraq War cost would have risen to $611 billion.

Congress and the Bush administration battled over war funding and timelines to end the war. The President threatened to veto any bill that contained timelines or other restrictions. In late December, Congress approved another $70 billion in unrestricted war funding.While the administration will continue the push for more war spending, the total for the Iraq War alone rose to $522.5 billion.

Omnibus bill passed

The $70 billion in new war spending was attached to an omnibus appropriations bill which rolled the other 11 appropriations bills into one package. Unable to pass its budget plan without being vetoed, Congress passed a bill which cut many programs in health, job training, and education programs and other areas. A few domestic programs received increases, such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Many programs continue to face the cuts begun in 2002.⁴

¹Does not include homeland security which had a proposed increase. The comparison was to spending levels in FY2006 since the FY2007 budget was not yet completed at the time of the administration’s budget proposal for FY2008.
²J. Horney and M. Coven, ‘Labor/HHS/Education Bill – what’s at stake: the President’s budget would weaken education, medical research, and other critical needs,’ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 16, 2007.
³Coalition on Human Needs, ‘Statement on the President’s veto of appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education must be overriden’ November 14, 2007.
⁴Coalition on Human Needs, ’Congress passes omnibus appropriations bill,’ CHN Human Needs Report, December 21, 2007.

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Updated: Fri, 01/25/2008 - 17:18

I will never put party

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 17:29.

I will never put party politics above the country. Neither should you. I'm not interested in winning another race for the party, while selling out the country. Read up on the Project for the New American Century. Read the letters. The men and women listed below are the architects of foreign policy since 2001. They are not of Ronald Reagen or Barry Goldwater. These men only care about empire. Talk to me after you've read these letters.Tell me what you think, as always. We are going down a dangerous path.

What else will we do to check China and keep oil from her?

http://www.newamericancentury.org/lettersstatements.htm
Letters to Bush
http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter-040302.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraq-20030319.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraq-20030328.htm

Letters to Clinton
http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqletter1998.htm

William Kristol Elliot Abrams Gordon Adams Richard V. Allen
Richard Armitage Ronald Asmus Gary Bauer Jeffrey Bell William J. Bennett Jeffrey Bergner Max Boot John Bolton
Rudy Boshwitz Jeb Bush Frank Carlucci Richard (Dick) Cheney Eliot Cohen Seth Cropsey Ivo H. Daalder Midge Decter James Dobbins Paula Dobriansky Thomas Donnelly Nicholas Eberstadt Hillel Fradkin Aaron Friedberg Lee Feinstein Steve Forbes Francis Fukuyama Peter Galbraith Frank Gaffney Jeffrey Gedmin Robert S. Gelbard Reuel Marc Gerecht Philip Gordon Charles Hill Fred C. Ikle Martin S. Indyk Bruce P. Jackson Eli S. Jacobs Michael Joyce Donald Kagan Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalizad Jeane Kirkpatrick Craig Kennedy Charles Krauthammer James Lindsay John Lehman I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby Tod Lindberg Rich Lowry Christopher Makins Will Marshall Clifford May Joshua Muravchik
Michael O'Hanlon Daniel Pipes Martin Peretz Richard Perle Danielle Pletka Norman Podhoretz Dan Quayle Peter W. Rodman Stephen P. Rosen Dennis Ross Henry S. Rowen Donald Rumsfeld Randy Scheunemann Gary Schmitt William Schneider, Jr. Richard H. Shultz
Walter Slocombe Henry Sokolski Helmut Sonnenfeldt Stephen J. Solarz
James B. Steinberg Vin Weber George Weigel Leon Wieseltier Marshall Wittmann Paul wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert b. Zoellick

Veterans have lost right to walk in VA clinincs

Submitted by Disbaled Iraq Veteran (not verified) on Wed, 01/23/2008 - 19:39.

As of a few weeks ago, the Lubbock Texas, VA outpatient clinic, has started denying Service Connected and Non Service Connected, Combat and Non Combat Disabled Veterans, walk in care.

They are now turning Veterans away, and in many cases, refusing to make appointments for the future.

This is as a result of the trickle down affect, of this administration, backing up their money dump truck to every department in DOD, and other Government agencies, and raiding cash flows, to pay for the war in Iraq, while being able to save face by not asking for more money for the war, in the budget.

The Problem

Submitted by Price Armstrong (not verified) on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 23:31.

Why is it that corporate income taxes have fallen from almost 40% of the total budget to just under 11% in a little over sixty years?

In fact, why is it that we are subsidizing some of our largest companies? Get rid of the oil subsidies!

Budget

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/21/2008 - 18:44.

Isn't this sad? The President vetoes the bill for the children’s health care expansion. But the request for the tax cuts for the wealthiest five percent receiving $92 billion in tax cuts gets approved. Where are our priorities? The wealthy that don't have to worry about health care or the children of the middle class and the poor?

WOW

Submitted by Army Veteran (not verified) on Fri, 01/18/2008 - 21:42.

Well, at least it seems there are only a few inbreeds left that actually think the war is a good thing and that th troops should stay in a useless, winless situation in order for Haliburton and Exxon to make more money.

I suppose you should have

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 23:40.

I suppose you should have warned me that posts would be moderated. Oh well.

getting new system underway

Submitted by pschwartz on Wed, 01/23/2008 - 17:38.

Apologies for the delay in posting your comment -- this is a new feature on our website and we're in the process of getting a timely system established. It shouldn't take so long next time around. Thanks for your patience.

Health care is not a

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 23:39.

Health care is not a constitutional duty of our federal government, and should not be done. Socialize health care has failed in every single country it is tried, and will do so here as well. Look at the problems of the VA Hospitals, Medicare and Medicaid. Further, military and defense *IS* a duty given to the federal government by our constitution.

Health care

Submitted by Helen (not verified) on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 14:58.

Health care is provided under very successful government programs in France, Canada and the United Kingdom among other countries. An Iraqi veteran who spoke at our church told us that while the military hospitals are problematic, the VA Hospitals are well managed, provide good quality care and deserve better funding. He urged those on both sides of the war issue to work for continued and improved funding of the VA. My understanding is that overall people are quite happy with Medicare as a program, the problem is the reimbursements are not always adjusted for inflation and for that reason, some doctors are less willing to participate. That would be an easy problem to solve it seems to me.

Keep beating your war drums.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/25/2008 - 16:02.

Keep beating your war drums. I wonder how many of your family members did their "duty" and enlisted to go and fight for "this" country. You are spineless, and anyone who thinks that this war is a good thing should sign up immediately. I have sacraficed one husband and one son, 3 cousins, 2 aunts and 4 nieces. So wave your flag and go and fight. My only hope is that they will have to bring back the draft soon to bring out of hiding all of the idiots that want this war. Just think of the silence of the war bangers who have to give up their sons and daughters for a useless war.