Spratt touts budget
A balanced budget is something all Democrats can be proud of. This Associated Press article is another example of why South Carolina voters should send more Democrats to Washington in November.
Spratt touts budget
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Budget Committee said Saturday that a 2009 spending blueprint passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress will restore funding for health care, energy and education while leading to a balanced budget by 2012.
Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., said the budget plan rejected proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicare and would broaden the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The plan also would add nearly $5 billion to the Veterans Affairs health care system in 2009, he said.
In his party’s weekly radio address, Spratt promised the bill would address skyrocketing fuel prices by spending more on home energy assistance for low-income families. “As for funding for alternative fuels, renewable energies and other energy initiatives, our budget provides $7.7 billion,” he said.
The House approved the $3.1 trillion budget plan Thursday; senators passed the measure Wednesday. The nonbinding measure does not go to President Bush but instead sets guidelines for future action by Congress.
Spratt said the plan “returns the budget to balance in 2012, with a surplus of $22 billion.”
That prediction, however, relies on some questionable assumptions. The plan would achieve the surplus goal only by allowing many of Bush’s signature tax cuts to expire and by eliminating any funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after next year.
In his radio address, President Bush urged Congress to approve a hotly contested Iraq war funding bill. He requested $178 billion and has threatened a veto if unrelated, added-on domestic spending measures aren’t removed from the measure.
To here more of Congressman Spratt’s radio address, click here.
