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Welcome to "Ask the White House" -- an online interactive forum where you can submit questions to Administration officials and friends of the White House. Visit the "Ask the White House" archives to read other discussions with White House officials.
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February 6, 2007
Stephen S. McMillin
Thank you for taking the time to join me today. The country has a lot to be proud of our economy is strong and growing, and as a result, federal revenues continue to be robust. The Presidents 2008 Budget continues the focus on pro-growth policies that have helped fuel our Nations economic expansion. The Presidents tax relief helped generate increased economic activity that resulted in strong job creation and record tax receipts in the last two years, even in the face of historic challenges the 2001 recession, corporate scandals, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Our strong and resilient economy, coupled with spending restraint, has helped cut the deficit in half three years ahead of schedule and put the budget on a path to balance by 2012. But, we cannot afford to be complacent. We have to think about our long-term fiscal health as well and take sensible steps to address our biggest long-term budget challenge -- reforming vital entitlement programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, to ensure they are there for future generations. I look forward to your questions. Ryan, from Ardsley, NY
writes: Stephen S. McMillin The Presidents tax relief reduced taxes for every American income taxpayer, while still generating increased economic activity which led to record tax receipts in the last two years. Coupled with spending discipline that kept non-security discretionary spending growth to one percent, and modest restraint in the growth of entitlement spending, the resulting strong economy has helped cut the deficit in half three years ahead of schedule and put the budget on a path to balance by 2012.
Some favor reducing the deficit by raising taxes, but this can be counterproductive since higher taxes on savings, investment, and small business income could put our recent strong growth at risk.
Robert, from Palo Alto, california writes: Stephen S. McMillin The Initiative overall commits $50 billion to increase funding for research and $86 billion for research and development tax incentives. The Advanced Competitiveness Initiative will enhance cutting-edge basic research, helping to advance U.S. competitiveness by inspiring a new generation of American innovation through world-leading initiatives in high end computation; bio-energy research centers; fourth generation light sources; and nanotechnology. Investments in research and development have proved critical to keeping Americas economy strong by generating knowledge and tools upon which new technologies are developed. We are committed to ensuring that the American economy remains the most flexible, advanced, and productive in the world.
Thanks for your question.
john, from Texas writes: Stephen S. McMillin To the extent that the costs of military operations or response to natural disasters can be anticipated, those costs should be reflected in the annual budget so that appropriate spending tradeoffs can be made. In this years budget, the President has taken the extraordinary step of including the full cost of the war for the next two years. Beyond this time, projections of war costs are extremely speculative, and of little value. In addition, the Budget includes funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the costs associated with the types of natural disasters that commonly occur in a given year. It is important to budget for these kinds of costs in advance, especially while we still have deficits, since every dollar of additional emergency spending must be borrowed by the Treasury, adding to our national debt. Regarding fuel costs, this is one of the many expenses that federal agencies incur that can vary greatly from the amount assumed in the budget. When fuel costs are higher than expected, agencies do not typically receive additional funding. Rather, they are expected to manage all of their costs within the funding provided for the year. Other costs may come in lower than expected. If not, the agency must find ways to reduce either fuel use or other expenses in order to carry out their mission with the funds at their disposal.
Lastly, we do include projections for Social Security in our budget. Our budget provides the most comprehensive measure of Federal spending by showing the difference between all spending and all receipts, we show how much Government spending must be funded by borrowing from the public. And our projections show that important entitlement programs, like Social Security, are not sustainable as currently structured. In about a decade, todays Social Security surpluses will turn into growing deficits. The President is committed to strengthening entitlement programs to consider different options for strengthening social security and bringing them to the table.
Michael, from Powell, Tn
writes: Stephen S. McMillin Cliff, from Brimfield, Ohio
writes: Stephen S. McMillin
But even with this extra time, it is still very common for annual spending bills to be completed after the start of the fiscal year.
Samson, from Ottawa, Canada
writes: Is the above very important recommendation included in the budget? Stephen S. McMillin Scott, from Camarillo writes: Stephen S. McMillin We do more than focus on earmarks, however. This years Budget provides a comprehensive approach to tackling Government spending. It builds on this Administrations record of spending discipline by holding the growth in non-security discretionary spending to one percent, well below the rate of inflation. And it addresses the biggest challenge to our nations fiscal health -- entitlement spending and the unsustainable growth in important programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The 2008 Budget slows spending growth through sensible reforms in entitlement and other mandatory programs, resulting in $96 billion in net savings. We achieve this, in part, by slowing the growth in Medicare from 7.4% annually to 6.7%. Over the long haul, even these modest reforms can reduce Medicares unfunded obligations by 25%.
But, theres still much more to do. The President will continue to lead the country on this issue as he works to educate Americans about the real and dramatic choices we face if we dont take action soon in this area.
Shehzad, from Saint Louis, Missouri writes: Stephen S. McMillin Regarding our schools, the 2008 Budget builds on the successes of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in raising student achievement for millions of children in schools nationwide. It increases total funding for NCLB by $1.2 billion, to $24.5 billion, a 41% increase since 2001. The Budget directs more funding to high schools to better prepare our students for college or the workplace, and offers new school choice options so children in low-performing schools have a chance to attend a school where they can learn and succeed. To help low-income families afford college, the 2008 Budget also increases the Pell Grant maximum award to $4,600 this year and to $5,400 by 2012. This years Budget also includes a number of proposals to make health care fairer, more affordable, more accessible and flexible. It proposes a significant change in the tax treatment of health care to expand coverage, increases transparency and competition in the health care insurance market so that consumers have more choices, and slows the growth of health care costs -- all of which will reduce the number of uninsured Americans. The Budget also improves access to health care by allowing small businesses and civic and community groups to band together to leverage their bargaining power in purchasing insurance, and it proposes to reduce frivolous lawsuits that increase patients costs.
To learn more about these proposals, see http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget08/factsheet.html and /stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/healthcare.html.
Ben, from Kansas City, Missouri
writes: Stephen S. McMillin
Stephen S. McMillin The Presidents FY08 Budget shows that we can achieve balance by keeping the economy strong and by imposing sensible and realistic spending restraint, while investing in our Nation's priorities. If you would like more information on this years Budget, please visit our website at www.whitehouse.gov/omb. I look forward to talking with you in the future. |