Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today urged President Bush to make fiscal responsibility the centerpiece of his 2006 State of the Union address. 

“The unsustainable growth of government is the biggest threat to the country’s long-term economic health,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “President Bush needs to be aggressive in proposing serious cuts to wasteful spending.”

From fiscal 1995 to fiscal 2005, total federal spending swelled from $1.5 trillion to almost $2.5 trillion.  The national debt passed $8 trillion in 2005 and the deficit for fiscal 2006 is projected to hit $337 billion.  The Bush Administration’s plan to slash the deficit in half by 2009 leaves out the cost of war, the impact of restructuring the Alternative Minimum Tax, and making the President’s tax cuts permanent.  Expected shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security total $34 trillion over the next 75 years.        

Congress has a history of ignoring the President’s requests for budget cuts and reforms.  For fiscal 2005, President Bush proposed cuts and eliminations to 65 programs; Congress increased funding for all but four.  For fiscal 2006, the President raised the ante to 154 programs.  Of the 99 programs proposed for termination, Congress terminated 24 and reduced funding for 28; of the 55 programs proposed for reduction, Congress reduced funding for 37.  Resulting savings totaled $6.48 billion.  The Deficit Reduction Act, which would reduce the growth of mandatory spending by $39.7 billion over five years, has passed the Senate and awaits a final vote in the House.

“The $6.48 billion savings figure for fiscal 2006 pales in comparison to the $2.5 trillion federal budget,” Schatz continued.  “The budget is teeming with wasteful and non-essential programs that could be cut.  Tonight the President needs to show leadership in the battle against wasteful spending.”   

CAGW’s report Prime Cuts 2005 catalogued 600 recommendations throughout the government that, if enacted, could save taxpayers $232 billion in fiscal 2006 and $2 trillion over the next five years.  As measured by CAGW’s Congressional Pig Book, the number of pork-barrel projects in the federal budget increased from 1,439 in fiscal 1995 to 13,997 in fiscal 2005.  President Bush recently spoke favorably of congressional efforts to curtail the number of earmarks added to appropriations bills.  He also threatened to veto appropriations bills if Congress overspends, which he has never done over the course of his presidency.

“If the President and Congress want to shore up their fiscal and ethical credibility, earmark reform would be an easy place to start.  In this year’s State of the Union address, new spending initiatives should take a back seat to fiscal responsibility and budget reform,” Schatz concluded.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.