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2 THE BUDGET MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT
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