The 2005 Budget submitted by the president last week only contained partial information for spending over the next 5 years. The spending proposals for specific programs are contained in a 1,000+ page Office of Management and Budget (OMB) computer run that was provided to some members of Congress, but was not included in the budget documents originally made available to the public.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has obtained these data and shared them with OMB Watch to post on our website.

It is important to remember the magnitude of the federal budget process on the outcome of community results. While budget process issues are often arcane and sometimes difficult to determine the affects on results, in the case of several of the president’s proposals, the purpose is very clear—to make tax cuts easier to pass and expansion of government services more difficult.

During last year’s debate on the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003, Congress used an outlay cost estimate of $395 billion for the new program. However, in the president’s 2005 budget, the 10-year outlay cost was estimated to be $534 billion – 35 percent greater than the initial estimate. See Table S-13, Page 387, 2005 budget..

Several new reports have pointed to the weakness of the long-run U.S. fiscal situation. A wide range of observers -- from independent analysts to conservative think-tanks, from international aid organizations to congressional analysts, and even from the administration itself -- are all pointing to the fact that current tax and budget policy is not sustainable. (See links below).