[fire_mat99]

And what are they going to do with this money try find a cure No Bush wants money for war not AIDS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) will propose $3.2 billion for next year to combat the spread of AIDS (news - web sites) globally, one of the few increases in what is expected to be a tight foreign aid budget, administration and congressional sources said on Friday.



Administration officials said Bush was fulfilling his commitments on AIDS funding, but critics charged the funding levels were inadequate.


In his 2003 State of the Union address, Bush pledged $15 billion over five years to help combat the spread of HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS, mostly in Africa and the Caribbean.


"It is an extraordinary commitment and we're making good on it in exactly the way we said we would," an administration official said of the $3.2 billion figure.


When the White House announced the initiative, it said the funding would be ramped up over the five-year period.


Congressional sources said the AIDS initiative escaped the fate of most other foreign aid programs in Bush's fiscal 2006 budget, which face a near freeze in spending growth, if not outright cuts.


AIDS activists say Bush's budget request falls short because Congress authorized up to $3.8 billion for 2006. They say Bush should commit closer to $6.7 billion next year, one-third of the estimated global need to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.


"We see this as a continuation of Bush's failed leadership on global AIDS by underfunding his own initiative and providing only a fraction of what is needed to stop this epidemic," said Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance.


"We need to treat it like a war, and look at what it takes to win that war," said Joanne Carter (news - web sites), legislative director of RESULTS, a grass-roots health advocacy organization.


At $3.2 billion, the 2006 budget request would top the $2.8 billion approved by Congress for the current fiscal year. The program received $2.4 billion in fiscal 2004.


MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE


Critics also point to what they see as a slow start for the Millennium Challenge Account, a separate program to provide cash in exchange for economic and democratic reforms to some of the world's poorest nations.


Bush first proposed that program in March 2002 and pledged $5 billion by 2006. Congress slashed Bush's funding request last year, and eligible countries have yet to receive any money. Madagascar could become the first recipient of funds within weeks, people involved in the deliberations said.


Bush will send his budget plan to Congress on Feb. 7 for the 2006 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.


He plans to propose a tight budget that nearly freezes overall growth in discretionary spending. He is also expected to propose cuts to popular benefit programs such as Medicaid. A freeze in growth would amount to a cut when inflation is taken into account.


Bush touted the AIDS initiative during a visit to Africa, where almost 30 million people live with the disease, including more than 3 million children under the age of 15.


The initiative focuses mainly on the hardest-hit countries, including Botswana, the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.





Some Democrats have called for the United States to pledge $30 billion by 2008 -- twice as much as Bush -- for the fight against AIDS. (Additional reporting by Anna Willard)

You think AIDS is bad looks at the troops in Iraq, all the US troops getting injured

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Army has brought charges against a soldier who refused to return to Iraq (news - web sites) for a second combat tour because he now objects to war, officials said Thursday.


Sgt. Kevin Benderman notified his commanders Dec. 28 that he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector. He then refused orders to deploy with his unit Jan. 8 while the Army processed his objector claim.


Benderman was charged with desertion and a second count that accuses him of intentionally skipping his deployment flight.


"My response to those charges is not guilty," said Benderman, 40. "I am prepared to deal with whatever consequences my action brings."


Benderman, an Army mechanic with 10 years in the military, spent eight months in Iraq in 2003 with the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. He transferred to Fort Stewart after returning from the war.


Though he never fired a gun in combat, Benderman says the misery he saw firsthand — including a badly burned young girl and mass graves filled with men, women and children — led him to seek objector status.


Fort Stewart commanders contend Benderman still had an obligation to deploy with his unit while they considered his conscientious objector application.


"The people that it hurts the most are those people who are a close-knit part of his team," Maj. Gen. William G. Webster, the 3rd Infantry commander, told reporters Thursday. "But if you talk to these soldiers here, it's sort of below the noise level."


Army investigators must now decide whether to prosecute Benderman in a court-martial or allow his case to be handled administratively, said Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone, a Fort Stewart spokesman.


If convicted by a court-martial, Benderman faces up to seven years in a military prison, reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge, Whetstone said. Military courts can also opt for no punishment, even for defendants found guilty.


Benderman has since been assigned to a rear-detachment unit with no restrictions. He said he has even been granted two weeks of leave that he will use to prepare his case.


"We're still going to treat him with honor and respect. He's a soldier, he's wearing the uniform and he's a veteran," Whetstone said. "But when regulations are broken and orders are disobeyed, we've got to do what we've got to do."

[angelize56]

You should have posted this over in one of the many, many, many Bush threads in CivDeb.

Bush...Bush...Bush....

[alex_holker]

Originally Posted by fire_mat99

And what are they going to do with this money try find a cure No Bush wants money for war not AIDS

Get a life. Bush is increasing spending to try to combat AIDS. It's not like he is obligated to spend money to combat Africa's problems, is it? If he doubled the spending like the Democrats were wanting, then they'd be saying he was sending the US further into debt.

Alex

[guitarman1]

Originally Posted by angelize56

You should have posted this over in one of the many, many, many Bush threads in CivDeb.

Bush...Bush...Bush....

15 minutes of fame syndrome

[fire_mat99]

I was a way for week and did some web surfing and found that Bush is going Cut Law Enforcement Aid

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites)'s budget will propose slashing grants to local law enforcement agencies and cutting spending for environmental protection, American Indian schools and home-heating aid for the poor, The Associated Press learned Saturday.


AP Photo



Bush molded the roughly $2.5 trillion spending plan for 2006 as a response to a string of record federal deficits, and is sends it to Congress on Monday.


The budget, the toughest he has written since entering the White House four years ago, seeks about half the increase for school districts in low-income communities he requested last year and a slight reduction for the National Park Service.


Many proposals face an unclear fate in Congress, where members of both parties are sure to defend favorite initiatives. Democrats blame the cuts on the tax reductions Bush has enacted and say that other items his budget omits — a Social Security (news - web sites) overhaul and costs for wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) — will only make matters worse.


"What it will lead to is growing pressure for draconian cuts," Sen. Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record) of North Dakota, the Senate Budget Committee's top Democrat, said Saturday. "It's inescapable, the course he's led us on, whether it's this year or next year, is for very, very heavy cuts."


Bush has said his budget will assemble federal resources for war, domestic security and other priorities and cull inefficient or redundant programs. Administration officials have said he will hold overall nondefense spending — excepting domestic security — to less than next year's expected 2.3 percent increase in inflation, meaning the programs will lose purchasing power.


"I stand with the president that we need to eliminate wasteful spending and we need to look through all the programs," said House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa. "There's no question that's not the easiest thing to do in Washington."


The details obtained Saturday are the latest in a budget that will also seek savings from programs ranging from Amtrak and farmers' subsidies to Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor and disabled.


According to figures obtained by the AP, Bush would slice a $600 million grant program for local police agencies to $60 million next year. Grants to local firefighters, for which Congress provided $715 million this year, would fall to $500 million.


He would eliminate the $300 million the government gives to states for incarcerating illegal aliens who commit crimes. It's a proposal he has made in the past and one that Congress has ignored. Also gone would be assistance for police departments to improve technology and their ability to communicate with other agencies.


The Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites)'s $8.1 billion would drop by $450 million, or about 6 percent, with most of the reductions coming in water programs and projects won by lawmakers for their home districts.


The Bureau of Indians Affairs would be sliced by $100 million to $2.2 billion. The reduction would come almost entirely from the agency's effort to build more schools.


The $2.2 billion program that provides low-income people — in large part the elderly — with home-heating aid would be cut to $2 billion. Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said the reduction would be "wrong-headed an inappropriate," especially with this season's jump in oil prices.


The park service's budget would drop nearly 3 percent to $2.2 billion, largely due to a reduction in its construction account.


Several cultural agencies will get about the same as this year's levels, including the Smithsonian Institution (news - web sites) and the national endowments for the arts and humanities, which distribute money to local groups.


Even on the plus side, Bush's budget will show constraint compared with previous years. That in part reflects his pledge to cut last year's projected $521 billion in half by 2009. One lawmaker said the budget will estimate that year's shortfall at about $230 billion — well under the record $427 billion it will project for 2005.


Bush will seek about 5 percent more, or about $600 million, for the $12.8 billion program for low-income area school districts. Last year, he requested a $1 billion increase.


Defense Department documents obtained Friday show the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s budget would grow by 4.8 percent to $419.3 billion — $3.4 billion less than he planned to seek for 2006 a year ago.

Other areas would fare better.

The Coast Guard — now part of the Homeland Security Department — will get $8.1 billion, $600 million over this year. Included will be a healthy increase for its plans to buy more oceangoing vessels, a boon to the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Thad Cochran (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., in whose state many of the ships are built.

Community health centers would grow to over $2 billion, an increase of $304 million, or almost 18 percent, over this year. Bush said he wants to every poor county to have one of the centers, which are used heavily by the poor.

[fire_mat99]

Here he wants more money

Bush Wants $80B More for Iraq, Afghan Wars

Tue Jan 25, 2:55 PM ET

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - As Congress started to digest a new Bush administration request of $80 billion to bankroll wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites), its top budget analyst on Tuesday projected $855 billion in deficits for the next decade even without the costs of war and President Bush (news - web sites)'s Social Security (news - web sites) plan.




Three senior administration officials said the White House would request $80 billion for the wars, or a bit more, soon after Bush submits his budget for fiscal 2006 to lawmakers on Feb. 7. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program has not yet been announced, said $75 billion of it would be for U.S. military costs, with the rest including funds to train and equip Iraqi and Afghan forces, aid the new Palestinian leadership, build an embassy in Baghdad and help victims of warfare in Sudan's Darfur province.


Congress approved $25 billion for the wars last summer. Using figures compiled by the Congressional Research Service, which prepares reports for lawmakers, the newest request would push the totals provided for the conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism past $300 billion. That includes $25 billion already provided for rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan.


In a written statement, Bush said the money would support U.S. troops and help the United States "stand with the Iraqi people and against the terrorists trying desperately to block democracy and the advance of human rights."


Amid the White House's preparations, the Congressional Budget Office (news - web sites) predicted the government will accumulate another $855 billion in deficits over the next decade.


The projection, for the years 2006 through 2015, is almost two-thirds smaller than what congressional budget analysts predicted last fall. But the drop is due largely to quirks in budget estimates that required the agency to exclude future Iraq and Afghanistan war costs and other expenses. Last September, the 10-year deficit estimate was $2.3 trillion.


The CBO also projected this year's shortfall will be $368 billion. That was close to the $348 billion deficit for 2005 that it had forecast last fall. The two largest deficits ever in dollar terms were last year's $412 billion and the $377 billion gap of 2003.


The budget office estimated that if U.S. troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan declines gradually after 2006, those wars would add $590 billion to deficits over the next decade. Including war costs, this year's shortfall should hit about $400 billion, the budget office said.


One of the administration officials said the White House will project this year's deficit — including war costs — at $427 billion, citing higher overall spending estimates than the congressional estimators used.


Besides lacking war costs, the budget office's deficit estimates also omitted the estimated pricetag of Bush's goal of revamping Social Security, which could cost $1 trillion to $2 trillion and dominate this year's legislative agenda.


Also left out were the price of extending Bush's tax cuts and easing the impact that the alternative minimum tax would have on middle-income Americans, which could exceed $2.3 trillion, the report said.


When those items are included, Bush is a long way from his goal of cutting deficits in half by 2009, Democrats said.


"Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House, but they can't control the budget and they can't escape responsibility for its dismal condition," said Rep. John Spratt (news, bio, voting record) of South Carolina, top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.


Republicans used the deficit figures to underscore the need to find budget savings this year, including from popular benefit programs, which include Medicaid.


"If we do nothing, our kids and grandkids will be overwhelmed by the costs of our inaction," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H.


The White House chose to discuss its war spending package as the United States confronts continued violence in Iraq leading up to that country's Jan. 30 elections.


"We thought it important to make it clear to the Iraqi people that we are committed to success and the mission in Iraq," one administration official said when asked why the White House decided to discuss the package.


Officials said the money would be used to add at least 17 combat brigades to the Army, which is bearing the brunt of the fighting in Iraq. They said it would also finance the military's personnel costs, the replacement of worn out and damaged equipment, and efforts to prevent insurgents from bombing U.S. troops.

One aide said the request will also include funds to help the new Afghan government combat drug trafficking. It might also have money to help two new leaders the U.S. hopes will be allies, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko.

The aides said they were not yet ready with a request to help Indian Ocean countries hit by the devastating December tsunami. They said such costs were averaging $5 million daily, and one said the administration's proposal would be a "significant request, very generous assistance."

The forthcoming request highlights how much war spending has soared past initial White House estimates. Early on, then-presidential economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey placed Iraq costs at $100 billion to $200 billion, only to see his comments derided by administration colleagues.

By pushing war spending beyond $300 billion, the latest proposal would approach nearly half the $613 billion the United States spent for World War I or the $623 billion it expended for the Vietnam War, when the costs of those conflicts are translated into 2005 dollars.

[ChrisJones]

Originally Posted by alex_holker

Get a life. Bush is increasing spending to try to combat AIDS. It's not like he is obligated to spend money to combat Africa's problems, is it? If he doubled the spending like the Democrats were wanting, then they'd be saying he was sending the US further into debt.

Alex

Good point Alex...

[LANMaster]

Another useless partisan thread.

The 15 Bil in the 2003 SOU address was to be over a several year period.
The 3.2 Bil in this year's budget is plenty adequate to meet the 15 Bil over time.

Once again, the whiney Liberal Left is clouding the truth to make political points.
Keep it up, Lefties, I credit you with the Bush re-election.

[rawmeat]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Another useless partisan thread.

The 15 Bil in the 2003 SOU address was to be over a several year period.
The 3.2 Bil in this year's budget is plenty adequate to meet the 15 Bil over time.

Once again, the whiney Liberal Left is clouding the truth to make political points.
Keep it up, Lefties, I credit you with the Bush re-election.

You forgot to mention that Bush is spending 3-5 times that of Clinton on Aids in Africa, and he was the first "black president".

Liberals whine about health care, but pass a prescription drug plan and get lambasted that you busted the budget. Shhh! Just don't remind people that the democrats were mad because he didn't spend double on it. BTW, I was and am against that boondoggle. Medicare is in much worse shape that social security, it is just that Clinton made such a big deal about SS being in crisis during his term, that the republicans figured that they couldn't charge now that it is not a problem. But guess what, they claim now that there is no problem with SS. Hippocrits!

[Guyzer]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Another useless partisan thread.

And just think, it was started by a Canadian. Go figure!

[linskyjack]

Originally Posted by rawmeat

You forgot to mention that Bush is spending 3-5 times that of Clinton on Aids in Africa, and he was the first "black president".

Liberals whine about health care, but pass a prescription drug plan and get lambasted that you busted the budget. Shhh! Just don't remind people that the democrats were mad because he didn't spend double on it. BTW, I was and am against that boondoggle. Medicare is in much worse shape that social security, it is just that Clinton made such a big deal about SS being in crisis during his term, that the republicans figured that they couldn't charge now that it is not a problem. But guess what, they claim now that there is no problem with SS. Hippocrits!

LOL--now the Republicans are allowing BIll Clinton to call the shots! How things do change!

[fire_mat99]

And just think, it was started by a Canadian. Go figure!

Well ya I'm very left wing Canadian. Funny how Bush is now backing down on gays and lesbians mariage..I guess he has to be some what more left wing if he wants to be liked


Well still he is very and I mean very right wing in my eyes

[rawmeat]

Originally Posted by fire_mat99

Well ya I'm very left wing Canadian. Funny how Bush is now backing down on gays and lesbians mariage..I guess he has to be some what more left wing if he wants to be liked


Well still he is very and I mean very right wing in my eyes

That is because you are so far to the left, you think Ted Kennedy is a right-wing fanatic.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by rawmeat

You forgot to mention that Bush is spending 3-5 times that of Clinton on Aids in Africa, and he was the first "black president".

Liberals whine about health care, but pass a prescription drug plan and get lambasted that you busted the budget. Shhh! Just don't remind people that the democrats were mad because he didn't spend double on it. BTW, I was and am against that boondoggle. Medicare is in much worse shape that social security, it is just that Clinton made such a big deal about SS being in crisis during his term, that the republicans figured that they couldn't charge now that it is not a problem. But guess what, they claim now that there is no problem with SS. Hippocrits!

Actually the group he is sending money to mainly performs abortions for people that can't afford them, aids research isn't exactly their forte!

So in other words Bush strongly supports abortion. At least for Africans

What the $$$ is this?
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...2/154940.shtml

I guess it is as creditable as rush limbaugh

Cheers

[fire_mat99]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record of $617.7 billion last year as Americans' appetite for all things foreign, from crude oil to cars, hit all-time highs. The United States even rang up a deficit in farm goods as imports of wine, cheese and other food products hit a record.


The Commerce Department (news - web sites) reported that the deficit for all of last year was 24.4 percent above the previous record, an imbalance of $496.5 billion in 2003. The U.S. deficit with China also set a record of $162 billion, up 30.5 percent from last year and the largest imbalance ever recorded with a single country.


The sharp worsening of America's performance in trade was certain to spark new political criticism of President Bush (news - web sites)'s economic policies. Democrats contend that the administration has not done enough to crack down on unfair foreign trade practices. These include China's currency policy, which U.S. manufacturers believe has deliberately undervalued the yuan by as much as 40 percent, giving Chinese companies a huge competitive advantage over U.S. firms.


The trade deficit in December declined 4.9 percent to $56.4 billion. That compared to a revised November shortfall of $59.3 billion, which was still the all-time monthly high but down from a previously reported $60.3 billion.


The administration has argued that the U.S. deficits reflect the fact that America is growing at faster rates than the rest of the world, providing more demand for imported goods. But private economists worry that the deficit has reached such stratospheric levels that foreigners may decide they do not want to hold as much in dollar-denominated assets.


In a second report, the Labor Department (news - web sites) said that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits totaled 303,000 last week, a decline of 13,000 from the previous week. It put new filings at their lowest level since October 2000 and underscored that the labor market is continuing to show strength.


For all of 2004, U.S. exports of goods and services rose 12.3 percent to $1.15 trillion. But imports rose at an even faster clip of 16.3 percent, setting a new record of $1.76 trillion.


The demand for foreign goods was led by a 35.7 percent surge in foreign petroleum imports, which climbed to a record high of $180.7 billion, an increase that reflected not only increased demand but also surging petroleum prices, as global markets pushed oil prices to record levels. For the whole year, the average per barrel price for imported crude was $34.47, up from $26.98 in 2003.


Imports of foreign autos, industrial supplies and consumer goods all set records as did imports of food products, which climbed to $62.17 billion. U.S. exports of food products were also a record at $56.3 billion. But since U.S. shipments abroad were lower than imports, the country recorded a deficit in food categories of $5.8 trillion. It was the third straight year the United States has run a deficit in food, which long had been one of the few areas where the country could depend on surpluses.


U.S. exports did climb to an all-time high, helped in part by a 15 percent decline in the value of the dollar against other major currencies over the past three years. A weaker dollar makes U.S. products cheaper and thus more competitive on overseas markets.


For 2004, exports of food, autos and auto parts and consumer goods climbed to a record and the export of capital goods was at the highest level in four years.


The deficit with China was up 30.5 percent from the previous record for any country, a deficit of $124.1 billion with China set in 2003. The United States also saw large increases in the deficits with Japan, at $75.2 billion, Canada at $65.8 billion and the 25-nation European Union (news - web sites), where the deficit rose to $110 billion.