FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 25, 2005

CONTACT: Stacey Farnen Bernards (202) 225-3130

Hoyer: CBO Budget Forecast Demonstrates The Real Crisis Facing America Today

Democratic Whip Says Republicans Must Not Ignore Fiscal Tyranny

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today regarding the new budget forecast by the Congressional Budget Office:

“If President Bush wants to craft a positive legacy, the first thing he needs to do is face fiscal reality and work in a bipartisan fashion to get our fiscal house in order.  Instead, as the budget forecast by the Congressional Budget Office confirmed today, he is pursuing fiscal policies that will force future generations to pay our bills and leave them at the mercy of foreign countries that hold more and more American debt.  These policies are not only reckless, they are immoral and dangerous.

“Even this CBO projection – which estimates that the government will add another $855 billion in debt over the next decade – understates the real fiscal consequences because it fails to include the costs of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President’s plan to privatize Social Security and extending tax cuts.

“The worst thing about CBO projections is that they tend to wildly underestimate the deficits that our nation is accumulating.  Two years ago, CBO said we would run a deficit of approximately $300 billion, and then we proceeded to run record deficits of $377 billion in 2003 and $412 billion in 2004.  CBO’s projected deficit of $368 billion in 2005 is not heartening, it’s disconcerting.

“Five days ago, President Bush spoke eloquently in his Inaugural Address about our nation’s interests in spreading freedom and democracy.  It is well past time that he recognize that one of the greatest threats to our future freedom is his pursuit of economic policies that put us in a fiscal straightjacket for decades to come.  In the days ahead, Democrats will continue to fight for policies that rein in these runaway deficits, while promoting economic growth and job creation.”

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