As Senate Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) noted publicly last week, the release of the President's austere budget not only has Democrats up in arms, but also is creating "some significant angst among my colleagues" on the other side of the aisle. Senator Voinovich (R-OH) in particular has come out against the fiscal irresponsibility of Bush's economic agenda, announcing last week that he will oppose efforts to make the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent. Voinovich said he will vote against the President's budget if necessary, and cited having possible support among other Republican colleagues of his in the so-called "Centrist Coalition," including Senators Collins (R-ME), Snowe (R-ME), and Bennett R-UT). See this Toledo Blade article for additional information. In related news, an article in today's Washington Post reports other lawmakers, including Senator McCain (R-AZ), have been raising concerns regarding the long term costs of some of Bush's fiscal policies. The article hints that people eyeing the White House in 2008 have reason to be worried since budget costs are expected to drastically increase in the coming years.

The FY 06 budget proposal submitted yesterday by the President includes severe cuts for all non-defense discretionary spending. Under the President's plan, discretionary spending in areas other than defense and homeland security would fall by nearly 1 percent. Click here to see a Washington Post breakdown of how the President's $2.57 trillion budget proposal affects each individual agency. Click here and here for information on how the President's budget proposal would directly affect the budgets of states. Click here, here, here, here, and here for good budget analyses by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. For a good synopsis on how this budget proposal is protecting the rich while leaving everyone else out, read this article by Robert Borosage. Also, be sure to check out the latest edition of the Watcher for articles from OMB Watch on the budget.