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Environmental Programs |
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By Cat Lazaroff
Bush's 49 minute speech emphasized "reasonable and responsible" spending to pay down the nation's debt and offer a massive income tax cut retroactive to January 1. Saying he wanted to fund "the nation's priorities," Bush proposed increased funding for education, health care and the military. His budget would boost spending for Social Security, Medicare and entitlement programs by $81 billion, and increase discretionary spending by another $26 billion - about half the increase approved by Congress in the last budget. "A budget's impact is counted in dollars, but measured in lives," Bush said in his most memorable sound bite. "Excellent schools, quality health care, a secure retirement, a cleaner environment, a stronger defense - these are all important needs, and we fund them." Bush proposed to pay off $2 trillion of national debt over ten years, and establish a $1 trillion contingency fund for unexpected needs. On the environment, Bush pledged to "improve our environment by accelerating the cleanup of toxic brownfields." As promised during his campaign, Bush also proposed full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and $4.9 billion over five years to meet the National Park Systems' backlog of maintenance and improvement needs. Regarding energy, Bush promised to increase domestic energy supplies without damaging the environment. "We can produce more energy at home while protecting our environment, and we must," Bush said, earning a round of applause. "We can produce more electricity to meet demand, and we must. We can promote alternative energy sources and conservation, and we must." Bush was playing to a largely sympathetic audience, who interrupted him with their applause a total of 88 times. But not all listeners approved of his budget proposals.
Bush's budget proposal could leave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Energy and Interior Departments facing budget cuts of five percent to seven percent. "If Bush truly wanted to protect the environment and save money, he could cut below cost timber sales, subsidies to the oil industry and pork barrel Army Corps of Engineers projects," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope. Bush also faced criticism for continuing to push an energy policy that includes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Sierra Club and other conservation groups support alternative plans for meeting the nation's energy needs, including increased use of renewable energy sources and the development of more energy efficient versions of buildings, vehicles and appliances. "While on the face of it, President Bush declares a desire to protect the environment, it is the details of his plans that will truly show whether this administration will preserve our natural treasures or exploit resources for the short term benefit of industry," said Pope. "When it comes to President Bush's environmental policy, the devil will be in the details." The fine print of the Bush budget shows that it fails to fully fund efforts to restore salmon on the Snake River in the Pacific Northwest. That lack of funds could doom some salmon species to extinction, environmental groups warned. "The region needs its wild salmon, and these salmon clearly need our help to survive," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "Full funding of the plan is essential for it to have the potential to succeed, and a failure to fund the plan will place the protected salmon at greater risk." Congressional Democrats had generally conciliatory words for Bush's proposals, but warned that the proposed tax cut could send the nation into a recession, with no funding available for crucial programs. "The President's plan depends far too heavily on a 10 year budget estimate, which is no more reliable than a 10 year weather forecast," said House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, Representative from Missouri. "And there's no room for error." The outline of President Bush's budget proposal is available at: www.whitehouse.gov/news/usbudget/blueprint/budtoc.html |
Bush delivers his budget address before Speaker Dennis Hastert and members of Congress 
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton will see her department's budget cut under Bush's plan 
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