DeLay: Bush Budget Reduces Deficit, Highlights Priorities

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today welcomed President Bush's fiscal year 2005 budget,
which focuses on America's priorities - winning the war on terror, growing the economy and strengthening the family.

The president's budget is a good start to funding our priorities and a good answer for the Democrats who are proposing increased spending and an increased deficit, DeLay said. They're not calling for responsible spending - they're calling for a tax hike.

While the Democrats feed their addiction to increasing spending on every issue but national security and intelligence, we're providing an accountable budget that will cut the deficit, win the war on terror and fund America's priorities.

By capping discretionary spending growth at 1 percent, we can successfully fund our priorities while putting our budget back in balance, DeLay said. A sustained, pro-growth economic campaign will ensure the American checkbook and the American treasury see better numbers in the coming years.
President Bush's FY 2005 budget includes funding for the following priorities:

- Winning the War on Terror: Provides $401.7 billion for the Department of Defense, a 35 percent increase over FY 2001 levels and a 7 percent increase over the FY 2004 enacted level.

- Securing the Homeland: Proposes a 9.7 percent increase in government-wide homeland security funding, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels - even when homeland security funding for the Department of Defense and Project BioShield are excluded.

- Growing the Economy: Makes permanent the tax relief signed into law, which doubled the child tax credit; reduced the marriage penalty; phases out the death tax; lowered rates on capital gains, stock dividends, and small businesses to create incentives for job creation; and lowered rates for every American who pays income taxes.