Garrett Responds to President's $2.4 Trillion FY 2005 Budget

Garrett Responds to President's $2.4 Trillion FY 2005 Budget

February 2, 2004, Washington, D.C. - President George W. Bush submitted his $2.4 trillion budget request for Fiscal Year 2005 to Congress today. House Budget Committee member, Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), today released the following statement:

"Though the President shows restraint in his commitment to reduce the current deficit, spending is still too high and must be further reduced. I will continue to work with the President to cut unnecessary government spending, and encourage my colleagues in Congress to be wise with the people's money.

"Government spending has increased at a rapid rate over the last decade. Too much has been spent, far too quickly. A record deficit of over $500 billion has raised the budget crisis to a red alert before Congress, yet spending continues to rise. Congress must now be responsible and hold back spending until revenue catches up.

"Abolishing the tax cuts would be the equivalent of raising taxes on Americans. That is one thing that the American taxpayer does not need - more money taken out of their paycheck. I support the President's call to extend the tax cuts, allowing for Americans to keep more of their hard earned money, in turn helping to continue to spur capital investment and restore job creation.

"I support the call for Congress to 'sunset' all federal programs. A sunset commission would allow for the government to better assess whether federal programs are beneficial or could be terminated, streamlined, privatized or better handled by the states. The sunset provision would allow for each dollar of the American tax-payer to be put to better use.

"These huge deficits not only pose an accounting problem, but create a problem for future generations. Congress must bring the budget back to balance now, to ensure that our children and grandchildren are not forced to repay the record amounts of debt we are borrowing on today."

On Tuesday, the House Budget Committee will hold a hearing with both Josh Bolten, the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and N. Gregory Mankiw, the Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, who will discuss the President's budget request in greater detail.