[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1459]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 BUDGET OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009--MESSAGE 
      FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 110-84)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  At www.budget.gov, Americans will find the budget of the Federal 
Government for Fiscal Year 2009. Two key principles guided the 
development of my Budget--keeping America safe and ensuring our 
continued prosperity.
  As we enter this New Year, our economy retains a solid foundation 
despite some challenges, revenues have reached record levels, and we 
have reduced the Federal deficit by $250 billion since 2004. Thanks to 
the hard work of the American people and spending discipline in 
Washington, we are now on a path to balance the budget by 2012. Our 
formula for achieving a balanced budget is simple: create the 
conditions for economic growth, keep taxes low, and spend taxpayer 
dollars wisely or not at all.
  As Commander in Chief, my highest priority is the security of the 
American people. So my Budget invests substantial resources to protect 
the United States from those who would do us harm. Continuing our 
Nation's efforts to combat terrorism around the globe, my Budget 
provides our men and women in uniform the tools they need to succeed in 
Afghanistan and Iraq, and it furnishes the resources needed for our 
civilians to help those nations achieve economic and political 
stabilization. My Budget also strengthens our overseas diplomatic 
capabilities and development efforts, advances our political and 
economic interests abroad, and improves the lives of people around the 
world.
  Here at home, we are blessed to live in a country that rewards hard 
work and innovation. In our flexible and dynamic economy, people can 
pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their 
families.
  As we look back over the past 7 years, we see the economy has 
successfully responded to substantial challenges, including a recession 
terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, wars, and devastating natural 
disasters. It is a measure of our economy's resilience and the 
effectiveness of pro-growth policies that our economy has absorbed 
these shocks, grown for 6 straight years, and had the longest period of 
uninterrupted job growth on record. Yet mixed indicators confirm that 
economic growth cannot be taken for granted. To insure against the risk 
of an economic downturn, I will work with the Congress to pass a growth 
plan that will provide immediate, meaningful, and temporary help to our 
economy.
  Americans have real concerns about their ability to afford healthcare 
coverage, pay rising energy bills, and meet monthly mortgage payments. 
They expect their elected leaders in Washington to address these 
pressures on our economy. So my Budget puts forth proposals to make 
health care more affordable and accessible, reduce our dependence on 
oil, and help Americans struggling to keep their homes.
  Above all, my Budget continues the pro-growth policies that have 
helped promote innovation and entrepreneurship. I will not jeopardize 
our country's continued prosperity with a tax increase. Higher taxes 
would only lead to more wasteful spending in Washington--putting at 
risk both economic growth and a balanced budget.
  As we work to keep taxes low, we must do more to restrain spending. 
My Budget proposes to keep non-security discretionary spending growth 
below 1 percent for 2009 and then hold it at that level for the next 4 
years. It also cuts spending on projects that are not achieving 
results--because good intentions alone do not justify a program that is 
not working.
  One of the best ways to reduce waste and increase accountability is 
to make Federal spending more transparent. To help Americans see where 
their money is being spent, we have launched a website called 
www.USAspending.gov, and to help Americans see the kind of results they 
are getting for their money, we launched www.ExpectMore.gov. I invite 
all Americans to log on and find out for themselves how their hard-
earned tax dollars are being spent.
  Billions of those tax dollars go to something called earmarks. 
Earmarks are special-interest items that are slipped into big spending 
bills or committee reports, often at the last hour, without discussion 
or debate. Last January, I asked the Congress to reform earmarks, and 
lawmakers took some modest steps in that direction. But they failed to 
end the practice of concealing earmarks in report language--and they 
continued to fund thousands of them. So I will take steps to advance 
earmark reform. I also call on the Congress to adopt the legislative 
line-item veto, which gives the legislative and executive branches a 
tool to help eliminate wasteful spending. Common-sense reform will help 
prevent billions of taxpayers' dollars from being spent on unnecessary 
and unjustified projects.
  As we take these steps to address discretionary spending, we also 
need to confront the biggest challenge to the Federal budget: the 
unsustainable growth in entitlement spending. Many Americans depend on 
programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and we have an 
obligation to make sure they are sound for our children and 
grandchildren. If we do not address this challenge, we will leave our 
children three bad options: huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge 
cuts in benefits. The longer we put off the problem, the more 
difficult, unfair, and expensive a solution becomes.
  My Budget works to slow the rate of growth of these programs in the 
short term, which will save $208 billion over 5 years. This step alone 
would reduce Medicare's 75-year unfunded obligation by nearly one-
third. My Administration cannot solve this problem alone, though. We 
need a commitment from the Congress to reform and improve these vital 
programs so they can serve future generations of Americans.
  In my 2009 Budget, I have set clear priorities that will help us meet 
our Nation's most pressing needs while addressing the long-term 
challenges ahead. With pro-growth policies and spending discipline, we 
will balance the budget in 2012, keep the tax burden low, and provide 
for our national security. And that will help make our country safer 
and more prosperous.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, February 4, 2008.

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