The Democrat’s “Copy-Cat” Budget

 

Both the President Obama’s budget request and the House Democrats’ budget resolution represent more of the same hollow promises we heard during the stimulus debate – huge spending increases now, with vague promises to make hard choices and cut spending later. 

 

The Democrat leadership has attempted to make their budget resolution appear to be more fiscally prudent than President Obama’s request. However, the discretionary spending in the Democrats’ resolution is a virtual copy-cat of the President Obama’s request and effectively rubberstamps the vast majority of the President’s proposed spending. For example, both budgets:

 

-          Contain massive spending increases far above inflation and far above expected growth in revenues;

-          Use budget gimmicks to hide spending and paint a rosier picture of future deficits;

-          Rely on vastly unrealistic assumptions to show lower spending increases in future years.

 

 

 

 

Category	FY09 Enacted	FY10 President Budget			FY10 House Resolution
		$	Chg vs FY09		$	Chg vs FY09
	$		$	%		$	%
Defense	534.5	556.1	+ 21.7	4 %	556.1	+  21.4	4 %
International	38.2	53.8	+ 15.6	41 %	48.5	+  10.3	27 %
Domestic	440.0	486.1	+ 46.1	10 %	484.1	+ 44.1	10 %
Total	1,012.7	1,096.1	+ 83.4	8 %	1,088.7	+ 76.1	8 %

 

The only slight difference between the two budgets is the level of increased international spending – the Democrat resolution *only* gives this category a 27% increase, instead of the President’s 41% increase. However, instead of using these “cuts” in international and defense areas to reduce spending, the Democrat budget adds back some of the funds to already generous increases for energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D programs and veterans funding.

 

The Democrats’ resolution also attempts to quiet the broad undercurrent of opposition by the public and their own Members to big budget increases by presenting lower spending increases in future years - averaging about 4%. However, given the Democrats support for massive spending – including a trillion dollar stimulus bill and a $410 billion omnibus Appropriations bill - expecting an about-face on future spending is vastly unrealistic.

 

The Democrats’ copy-cat budget resolution is a virtual rubberstamp of the big spending contained in the President Obama’s budget request. Instead of fulfilling promises to make hard choices and scrub the budget “line by line,” both the President’s request and Democrats’ resolution contain wild spending increases with little regard for the taxpayer or the nation’s financial future.