Nussle says President’s budget outline has good and bad

The nearly two-and-a-half trillion dollar federal budget outline President Bush unveiled today has both good and bad news according to Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle, chairman of the House Budget Committee. Bush is calling for sizable increases in defense and homeland security, but reductions in other areas as well as making the tax cuts he’s won over the past two years permanent. Nussle says the President’s right on point when it comes to protecting the country and stimulating the economy with tax cuts. Nussle says the bad news is the budget deficit has grown. Bush estimates his budget blueprint will create a 364 billion dollar deficit for 2005. Nussle says as chairman of the Budget Committee, he’ll press to reduce that deficit further. To that end, Nussle will pursue a budget freeze for all agencies but Homeland Security and Defense. Nussle says Bush’s budget outline called for a roughly one-percent spending increase in 14 government agencies Nussle says the difference between his budget freeze and Bush’s outline is about four-billion dollars. Nussle says he believes reforms and savings can be found in a variety of government programs.