Bush budget seeks to control US deficit

US President George Bush has presented his 2006 budget to Congress as he seeks to cut domestic expenditure faced with a record deficit of $427 billion.

Mr Bush's proposed $2.58 trillion budget will cut over 150 domestic programmes ranging from health to farming, but will raise foreign aid expenditure by 10% and defence spending by almost 5% to $419 billion.

The military expenditure in the budget does not include the cost of ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr Bush will have to return to Congress, cap in hand, for another $80 billion later in the year.

It is expected that Congress will spend several weeks debating the budget proposals which if passed will see increases on expenditure on the global effort to tackle HIV/Aids.

Among the largest cuts in the tightest domestic budget proposals yet under the Bush administration are to agriculture, almost 10%, and the environment, almost 6%.

President Bush has pledged to trim the US budget deficit by around a half within five years. This deficit is in part caused by massive tax cuts made early in Mr Bush's first term as President. Many republicans want these tax concessions to remain, despite huge pressures to raise taxes to cover a massive increase in social security payments as the bill for retirement pensions continues to increase.

The projected budget position is in part based on the removal of these tax cuts.

(SP)