President Bush unveiled budget plans that projects a record deficit of $521 billion in the current fiscal year and asks Congress for $2.4 trillion for the next fiscal year, which starts in October.
The $2.4 trillion request is a 3.5 per cent increase over the prior year's request and limits spending at the discretion of Congress to a 3.9 per cent increase.
Despite the spending increase and record deficit, Mr Bush vowed to cut the deficit to $237 billion, or less than half of this year's projection, by 2009.
"Economic growth and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars will help us meet another important priority: cutting the budget deficit brought on by recession and war," Mr Bush said in the accompanying message to lawmakers.
Mr Bush has already come under fire from both opposition Democrats and fiscal conservatives in his own Republican party who are up in arms at the free-flowing red ink.
To counter those charges, Mr Bush limited non-security discretionary spending to just a 0.5 per cent rise. Mr Bush is seeking a 7.1 per cent increase, to $402 billion, in funds for the Pentagon and a 9.7 per cent increase, to $30 billion, for Homeland Security expenditures.
"We will continue to provide whatever it takes to defend our country by fully supporting our military, which is performing with great skill and honor in our battles overseas," Mr Bush said.
AFP