When the president repeats his mantra "cut the deficit in half by 2009", one could reasonably assume that the downward trend in deficits would continue past 2009 - as if "half in 2009" was a milestone of sorts. But, au contraire! The "half in 2009" is not a just a milestone but a turning point - the point where deficits start growing again. It’s right there in black and white in the president’s FY2007 budget, but it’s starkly absent in his speech. From page 223 in the Analytical Perspectives document of the President's FY 2007 Budget: (click on image for expanded view)

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has estimated in a new report that the overall cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001 will top $500 billion next year (the fiscal year ends September 30). The latest addition to this spending, of course, was the $69 billion allocated in the supplemental spending bill signed into law earlier this month.

Today, President Bush signed the $70 billion Deficit Growth Package (aka Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005) into law. And as he places more debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, he continues to mislead the American people by claiming that the 2003 tax cuts are the cause of the growing economy. One of the most important decisions we made was to cut the taxes on dividends and capital gains. These cuts were designed to lower the cost of capital and to encourage businesses to expand and hire new workers. And these tax cuts are doing exactly what we expected.

OMB Watch released a statement yesterday about the vote in the Senate to increase the nation's debt limit for the fourth time in the last five years. Read the statement