Budget Message of US President, 2007 President’s Budget

Budget Message of US PresidentThe economy is the envy of the industrialized world. To build and maintain our competitive edge, my Administration has a broad agenda to promote America’s long-term economic strength. We are opening new markets to American-made goods and services through trade agreements. We are proposing reforms to prevent needless litigation and burdensome regulations. Through major reforms of our public schools, we are preparing our children to compete and succeed in the global economy. And my Budget includes an American Competitiveness Initiative that targets funding to advance technology, better prepare American children in math and science, develop and train a high-tech workforce, and further strengthen the environment for private-sector innovation and entrepreneurship.g Sector.

In our efforts to keep our economy strong and competitive, we will resist calls to raise taxes on America’s workers, families, and businesses. Unless we act to make tax relief permanent, income tax rates eventually will rise, the marriage penalty will climb, the child tax credit will be cut, savers and investors will be hit with higher taxes, and the death tax will come back to life.

With a growing economy, tax receipts are on the rise, helping to bring down the deficit in 2005. To stay on track to meet my goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009, we must maintain our pro-growth policies and insist on spending restraint.

The 2007 Budget also continues our efforts to improve performance and make sure the taxpayers get the most for their money. My Administration expects to be held accountable for significantly improving the way the Government works. In every program, and in every agency, we are measuring success not by good intentions or by dollars spent, but rather by results achieved.

In the long term, the biggest challenge to our Nation’s fiscal health comes from unsustainable growth in entitlement spending. Entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare are growing faster than our ability to pay for them, faster than the economy, faster than the rate of inflation, and faster than the population. As more baby boomers retire and collect their benefits, our deficits are projected to grow. There will be fewer people paying into the system, and more retirees collecting benefits. These unfunded liabilities will put an increasing burden on our children and our grandchildren. We do not need to cut these programs, but we do need to slow their growth. We can solve this problem and still meet our Nation’s commitment to the elderly, disabled, and poor.

My Budget also includes proposals to address the longer-term challenge arising from unsustainable growth in Medicare, while ensuring modern health care for our seniors. In addition, I will continue to call on Congress to enact comprehensive reform of Social Security for future generations, so that we return the system to firm financial footing, protect the benefits of today’s retirees and near-retirees, provide the opportunity for today’s young workers to build a secure nest egg they can call their own, and assure our children and grandchildren a retirement benefit that is as good as is available today.

This was the budget speech by the US President.