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WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (AFP): The US administration was set to unveil Monday a proposed 2007 budget that curbs non-military spending in a bid to shrink a deficit it sees topping 400 trillion dollars this year.
The Congressional Budget Office appeared more optimistic about the government's red ink, forecasting a deficit of 337 trillion dollars for 2006, up from 318 trillion dollars in 2005. The CBO predicted the gap would shrink to 270 trillion dollars in 2007.
In his State of the Union address, President George W Bush broadly outlined budget plans for the 2007 fiscal year that begins October 1, 2006.
"Every year of my presidency, we've reduced the growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending. And last year you passed bills that cut this spending," Bush told lawmakers.
"This year, my budget will cut it again and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programmes that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities. By passing these reforms, we will save the American taxpayer another 14 billion dollars next year and stay on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009," Bush added.
Reaching that target has become a rallying cry for the Bush administration.
On Friday, Mark Warshawsky, the Treasury assistant secretary for economic policy, also underscored the administration's drive to get the deficit "below two per cent (of gross domestic product) in 2009" down from the 2.6 per cent expected in 2006.
The government has explained the expected increase in the deficit for fiscal 2006, noting that it had faced unforeseen major outlays for emergency assistance and reconstruction in areas devastated by hurricanes late last year.
But some critics doubt the outlook will be better in future fiscal years as the CBO has forecast.
Experts at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, see the 14 billion dollars in savings Bush announced as inadequate if the administration is serious about putting a dent in a 400-billion-dollar deficit.
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