PRESTOPUNDIT

Bush vows to "freeze" government spending at "high altitude" . Quotable:

Federal expenditures on everything from the National Institutes of Health to social and research programs were so dramatically increased [in recent years] that a year of "belt-tightening" will have little adverse effect, the [Bush administration] official said.

The so-called "freeze" is a verbal promise by the President to boost discretionary spending by 1% next year. This year the President promised to "freeze" spending at a 3% growth clip, while congress has voted to "freeze" spending at a much more robust 9% growth rate. And as most are aware, the President fell in line behind the leadership of the Congress, signing up for its 9%spending growth package rather than acting to impose his own promise. ("Read my lips, no new spending", said the President).

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