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Skriven 2006-07-11 23:34:36 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060711) for Tue, 2006 Jul 11
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Fact Sheet: Strong Economic Growth and Fiscal Discipline Help Reduce Budget
Deficit
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 11, 2006

Fact Sheet: Strong Economic Growth and Fiscal Discipline Help Reduce Budget
Deficit



Strong Economic Growth and Fiscal Discipline Help Reduce Budget Deficit
President's Goal to Cut Deficit in Half is Projected to be Met a Year Ahead
of Schedule

Today, the Office of Management and Budget Reported the FY2006 Budget
Deficit Is Forecast To Be 30 Percent Lower than the Forecast in February
and the President's Goal to Halve the Deficit is on Track to be Met a Year
Ahead of Schedule. The President's pro-growth policies have encouraged
robust economic growth and job creation, thereby strengthening government
revenues and helping to reduce the deficit. The new report estimates this
year's deficit to be $296 billion or 2.3 percent of GDP. Projections now
show the deficit will fall to $188 billion in 2008, or 1.3 percent of GDP,
surpassing President Bush's original goal of cutting the deficit in half by
FY2009 from its FY2004 projected peak of $521 billion, or 4.5 percent of
GDP.

Economic Growth Generates Increased Tax Receipts and Dramatically Improves
Budget Outlook
  þ Stronger than Expected Economic Growth in the Opening Quarter of 2006.
    The economy has grown 18 consecutive quarters and real GDP grew at an
    annual rate of 5.6 percent for the first quarter of the year. Since the
    beginning of 2003, real--or inflation-adjusted--GDP growth has averaged
    4.0 percent per year, exceeding the post-World War II average of 3.4
    percent per year.
  þ President Bush's Pro-Growth Policies Have Resulted In Impressive Job
    Growth And Economic Expansion. The economy has created over 5.4 million
    jobs since August 2003. At 4.6 percent, the unemployment rate is lower
    than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s.
  þ The American People's Hard Work Helped Overcome Significant Challenges.
    This job growth is particularly impressive in light of the series of
    challenges faced by the Nation over the past five years, including the
    stock market decline beginning in 2000, the recession, the terrorist
    attacks on 9/11, the ensuing Global War on Terror, devastating
    hurricanes, and higher energy prices.
  þ A Robust Economy Has Helped Produce Rapid Increases in Federal
    Receipts. From 2005 to 2006, receipts are projected to grow 11 percent
    ($246 billion), more than twice as fast as the economy itself. Since
    the tax relief was fully implemented in 2003, tax receipts have
    increased over 34.6 percent.

Spending Restraint Helps Reduce Budget Deficit
  þ The President Has Held the Line on the Growth of Discretionary
    Spending. Last year, the President proposed to cut non-security
    discretionary spending below the previous year's level, the first such
    proposal since the Reagan Administration. He proposed to hold total
    discretionary spending growth to less than the rate of inflation. The
    Congress delivered on those goals. His FY2007 Budget builds on this
    success and again calls on Congress to reduce non-security
    discretionary spending and keep the growth of overall discretionary
    spending below inflation.
  þ The Line Item Veto Will Give the President An Important Tool to
    Eliminate Wasteful Spending. Working with Congress, this tool can help
    reduce the budget deficit and discourage the practice of earmarking
    Federal funds for projects that are wasteful, duplicative, or unneeded.
    The House of Representatives approved creation of the line item veto by
    a strong bipartisan majority and the Senate needs to pass this reform.

Unsustainable Growth in Entitlement Programs Poses Long-Term Threat to
Budget
  þ Protecting Our Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Health Requires Reining-In
    Runaway Entitlement Spending. Over the next 30 years, spending for
    Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will grow to the point that it
    will crowd out the rest of the Federal budget if needed reforms are not
    made. The President proposed slowing the growth of Medicaid and
    Medicare spending in his FY2006 Budget, and Congress passed the Deficit
    Reduction Act which the President signed into law in February, saving
    almost $40 billion over the next five years. The President followed up
    with proposals in his FY2007 Budget to slow the growth of entitlement
    programs, including Medicare, by $65 billion over five years and will
    continue to work with Congress on entitlement reform, including
    reforming Social Security to preserve and strengthen it for future
    generations of Americans.

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