Yet again, George Bush proves that he is all talk and no walk. He'll promise you the moon and show you his ass instead. In the newest budget proposal by the White House, they want to cut funding for counter-terrorism programs by more than 50 percent, from $3.2 billion to $1.4. The man, his Presidency and his legacy are an utter disgrace.
From The Washington Post:
The proposal to drastically cut Homeland Security grants is at odds with some of the administration's own policies. For example, the White House recently promised continued funding for state and regional intelligence "fusion centers" _ information-sharing centers the administration deems critical to preventing another terrorist attack. Cutting the grants would limit money available for the centers.
The White House's plan to eliminate the port, transit and other grants, which are popular with state and local officials, would not go into effect until Sept. 30, 2008. Congress is unlikely to support the cuts and will ultimately decide the fate of the programs and the funding levels when it hashes out the department's 2009 budget next year. The White House routinely seeks to cut the budget requests of federal departments, but the cuts proposed for 2009 Homeland Security grants are far deeper than the norm. Congress has yet to approve the department's 2008 plan.
And predictably, the tough talk from the Democrats began:
"This budget proposal is dead on arrival," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "This administration runs around the country scaring people and then when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, they say 'sorry, the bank is closed.'" [...]
"To zero out essential Homeland Security programs which have more to do with protecting Americans and fighting the war on terror than much of the money spent in Iraq shows how warped and out of touch this administration's priorities are," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat.
Actually, most legislators on the Hill are displeased and/or angry about his anti-terror budget. Even Peter King, a Republican from Long Island and that man loves George Bush. Lieberman and Collins as well do not support the President on this one either. Of course, time will tell how they handle the budgeting dilemma that comes down on Congress every year. Unlike ending the war in Iraq, this has more of a chance, because the budget is all about bringing home the bacon to their districts and states, so that $1.4 billion dollar request should be changed quite a bit.
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