Feel free to post a video showing a Republican president contradicting himself in one speech.
I don't have the video, but would a transcript work? Please tell us how Bush intended to spend trillions, yet "set aside" trillions in his 2002 budget,
and cut taxes. Bear in mind, this was policy, not campaign rhetoric.
Bush Speech to Congress: 27 Feb 2001
George W. Bush Addresses Congress on the Budget
Following are excerpts from President Bush's speech to Congress,
27 February 2001
'I'm Here to Ask for a Refund'
We increase spending next year for Social Security and Medicare and other entitlement programs by $81 billion. We have increased spending for discretionary programs by a very responsible 4 percent above the rate of inflation. My plan pays down an unprecedented amount of our national debt. And then when money is still left over, my plan returns it to the people who earned it in the first place.
A budget's impact is counted in dollars but measured in lives. Excellent schools, quality health care, a secure retirement, a cleaner environment, a stronger defense -- these are all important needs, and we fund them.
The highest percentage increase in our budget should go to our children's education. Education is my top priority.
And by supporting this budget, you will make it yours as well. Reading is the foundation of all learning, so during the next 5 years, we triple spending, adding $5 billion to help every child in America learn to read. Values are important, so we triple funding for character education to teach our children not only reading and writing, but right from wrong.
We've increased funding to train and recruit teachers, because we know a good education starts with a good teacher. And I have a wonderful partner in this effort.
I like teachers so much, I married one. Laura has begun a new effort to recruit Americans to the profession that will shape our future: teaching. She will travel across America to promote sound teaching practices and early reading skills in our schools and in programs such as Head Start.
Another priority in my budget is to keep the vital promises of Medicare and Social Security, and together we will do so.
To meet the health care needs of all America's seniors, we double the Medicare budget over the next 10 years.
My budget dedicates $238 billion to Medicare next year alone, enough to fund all current programs and to begin a new prescription drug benefit for low-income seniors.
No senior in America should have to choose between buying food and buying prescriptions. To make sure the retirement savings of America's seniors are not diverted to any other program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion of the Social Security surplus for Social Security and for Social Security alone.
My budget puts a priority on access to health care without telling Americans what doctor they have to see or what coverage they must choose. Many working Americans do not have health care coverage, so we will help them buy their own insurance with refundable tax credits. And to provide quality care in low-income neighborhoods, over the next five years we will double the number of people served at community health care centers. And we will address the concerns of those who have health coverage yet worry their insurance company does not care and will not pay.
Together, this Congress and this president will find common ground to make sure doctors make medical decisions and patients get the health care they deserve with a patients' bill of rights.
My budget will improve our environment by accelerating the cleanup of toxic brownfields. And I propose we make a major investment in conservation by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Our national parks have a special place in our country's life. Our parks are places of great natural beauty and history. As good stewards, we must leave them better than we found them,
so I propose providing $4.9 billion over five years for the upkeep of these national treasures.
And my budget adopts a hopeful new approach to help the poor and the disadvantaged. We must encourage and support the work of charities and faith-based and community groups that offer help and love one person at a time.
These groups are working in every neighborhood in America to fight homelessness and addiction and domestic violence, to provide a hot meal or a mentor or a safe haven for our children. Government should welcome these groups to apply for funds, not discriminate against them.
Government cannot be replaced by charities or volunteers. Government should not fund religious activities.
But our nation should support the good works of these good people who are helping their neighbors in need.
So I propose allowing all taxpayers, whether they itemize or not, to deduct their charitable contributions. Estimates show this could encourage as much as $14 billion a year in new charitable giving, money that will save and change lives.
Our budget provides more than $700 million over the next 10 years for a Federal Compassion Capital Fund with a focused and noble mission: to provide a mentor to the more than 1 million children with a parent in prison and to support other local efforts to fight illiteracy, teen pregnancy, drug addiction and other difficult problems.
As government promotes compassion, it also must promote justice. Too many of our citizens have cause to doubt our nation's justice when the law points a finger of suspicion at groups instead of individuals. All our citizens are created equal and must be treated equally. Earlier today, I asked John Ashcroft, the attorney general, to develop specific recommendations to end racial profiling. It is wrong, and we will end it in America.
Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened, and I agree. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act now, and I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years. At the end of those 10 years, we will have paid down all of the debt that is available to retire. That is more debt repaid more quickly than has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history.
We should also prepare for the unexpected, for the uncertainties of the future. We should approach our Nation's budget as any prudent family would, with a contingency fund for emergencies or additional spending needs.
For example, after a strategic review, we may need to increase defense spending, we may need additional money for our farmers, or additional money to reform Medicare. And so my budget sets aside almost a trillion dollars over 10 years for additional needs. That is one trillion additional reasons you can feel comfortable supporting this budget.
We have increased our budget at a responsible 4 percent. We have funded our priorities. We paid down all the available debt. We have prepared for contingencies. And we still have money left over.
Now we come to a fork in the road. We have two choices. Even though we have already met our needs, we could spend the money on more and bigger government. That's the road our nation has traveled in recent years.
Last year, government spending shot up 8 percent. That's far more than our economy grew, far more than personal income grew and far more than the rate of inflation. If you continue on that road, you will spend the surplus and have to dip into Social Security to pay other bills. Unrestrained government spending is a dangerous road to deficits, so we must take a different path.
I hope you'll join me in standing firmly on the side of the people. You see, the growing surplus exists because taxes are too high, and government is charging more than it needs. The people of America have been overcharged, and, on their behalf, I am here to ask for a refund. And as we debate this issue, always remember: The surplus is not the government's money; the surplus is the people's money.
As we meet tonight, many citizens are struggling with the high cost of energy. We have a serious energy problem that demands a national energy policy. The West is confronting a major energy shortage that has resulted in high prices and uncertainty. I have asked federal agencies to work with California officials to help speed construction of new energy sources. And I have directed Vice President Cheney, Commerce Secretary Evans, Energy Secretary Abraham and other senior members of my administration to develop a national energy policy.
Our energy demand outstrips our supply. We can produce more energy at home while protecting our environment, and we must.
We can produce more electricity to meet demand, and we must.
We can promote alternative energy sources and conservation, and we must.
America must become more energy independent, and we will.
