US President George W. Bush will propose budget cuts tomorrow for federal programmes deemed wasteful, including one that funds research and development of offshore oil drilling.
He will also put programs with major cost overruns, including the International Space Station, on notice that they will be "reinvented, redirected or retired" if they do not shape up, according to budget excerpts obtained by
Reuters
.
Responding to the unprecedented demands of the September 11 attacks and a recession, Mr Bush will propose a 9 per cent increase in federal spending for fiscal 2003, which begins on October 1, to fund the war against international terrorism, homeland defense and a new round of tax cuts aimed at stimulating the economy.
His $2.13 trillion budget will also bring an abrupt end to a four-year string of surpluses that began in 1998, projecting deficits of $106 billion in fiscal 2002, $80 billion in 2003 and $14 billion in fiscal 2004.
"The budget for 2003 is much more than a tabulation of numbers. It is a plan to fight a war we did not seek, but a war we are determined to win," Mr Bush will say in the budget, which is scheduled to be released tomorrow.
Accordingly, Mr Bush will propose boosting defense spending by more than $45 billion in fiscal 2003 and by $120 billion over the next five years. That represents the biggest increase - 12 per cent - for defense since former President Ronald Reagan's Cold War-era buildup 20 years ago.
Mr Bush will also propose nearly doubling spending on homeland security to $37.7 billion in 2003, with the goal of combating bioterrorism and stopping foreigners at the border who might try to launch attacks like those on September 11 against New York and Washington.