The President's request is 37% below the funding levels enacted by Congress for 2008 with the President proposing $16.154 million for Lewis and Clark and $26.24 for Mni Wiconi's construction and operations budget.

In December, the South Dakota delegation called on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jim Nussle and the White House to keep funding for the Lewis & Clark project on track to bring water to more than 300,000 people in 20 communities in three states. Budget Director Nussle told members of the South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa congressional delegations that the budget would reflect out nation's "highest priorities" and promote "sustained economic growth."

"Lewis and Clark needed up to $35 million to keep the project moving forward. We're willing to work with the President, but this is less than half of what they need. This budget is unrealistic and short-sighted. Tax cuts for Wall Street millionaires have found their place in the President's budget, but the 300,000 people from our tri-state area were told their drinking water isn't important enough to fully fund," Johnson said.

And as a side note, in the MSNBC article linked above, the subheader says: "Spending plan features big increases for defense and big deficits."

(Hat Tip: Lowell, Badlands Blue)]]> http://www.democrats.org/a/2008/02/bush_cuts_criti.php http://www.democrats.org/a/2008/02/bush_cuts_criti.php South Dakota Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:35:22 -0500 As Atrios might say, behold the World's Greatest Deliberative Body:

"When it comes to fiscal discipline, Republicans have made a mess. It was Bush Republicans who turned record surpluses into record deficits, gave reckless tax cuts to people who did not need it, and waged a failed war of choice in Iraq, a war that new reports suggest will end up costing $3.5 trillion if Republicans keep standing in the way of change.

"The fact is, Republicans in Washington have decided that refusing to join Democrats in doing the work of the American people and then blaming Democrats for the deadlock is more important than standing up for America's working families. This obstructionism-at-all-costs strategy is not going to work, and Republicans will pay for it in next year's elections. The American people know we need a Democratic president to get us out of Iraq, restore fiscal discipline, and take our country in a new direction."

He's running for president, but some of Rudy Giuliani's campaign-trail hotels have been fit for a king.

Giuliani, whose campaign boasts of having spent the least cash of all the Republican White House candidates, rented rooms at a string of high-end hotels as he stumped around the country over the last three months, his campaign filings show.

They included the swank Fairmont San Francisco, the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix and the Hotel Andalucia in Santa Barbara, where the campaign paid $2,457 at the end of last month.

Some $4,600 went to the Conrad Hotel in Indianapolis, a city where the candidate held a fund-raiser last month co-hosted by former Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, a policy adviser to Giuliani.

Oh, and by the way... Giuliani's not a tax-cutter after all..

But he also worked hard for high taxes. In 1994, Giuliani endorsed Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Democrat, for re-election against then-challenger George Pataki, the Republican. Why? In part, it was because Giuliani opposed Pataki's proposed tax cuts.

And in 1999 Giuliani fought against the State Legislature's repeal of a commuter income tax.

In fact, Giuliani's rather smallish tax cuts were swamped by his tax increases. New York City's personal, corporate and unincorporated business income taxes, on top of state income levies, have long hampered entrepreneurship and economic growth, chasing away individuals and businesses. Giuliani's budgets called for continuing a temporary personal income tax surcharges when they were to expire. Those are big tax increases Giuliani does not bring up when he's campaigning.

Despite the empty threats, the bill passed 81-15. The Washington Post cited the failure of the Republican Congress to approve the appropriation bills:

Congressional Democrats blame Republicans for leaving them a fiscal mess from last year, when Congress approved just two of the 11 appropriations bills and forced them to craft an omnibus bill that would fund a large chunk of the government for the remainder of fiscal 2007.

"Today's action is another step towards cleaning up the fiscal mess left by the 109th Congress," said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

So it appears there will be no "showdown." This is a victory not only for the Senate Democrats who stood up to Republican empty threats, but also for the American people. Here's more information from the Washington Post about the bill that passed in the Senate:

The spending plan would maintain funding for most federal agencies at their 2006 level, but it would add billions of dollars in funding for Democratic priorities such as veterans' health care and Pell grants for higher education.

The additional funding for Pell grants would mean an increase of $260 per year, up to $4,310, for students, according to congressional estimates. The National Institutes of Health will have an additional 500 research grants to administer because of almost $620 million in increased funding.

The Republicans were wise not to block the bill and shut down the government because of their own failure to resolve this in the 109th Congress.

"Last week he visited a national park after years of neglecting the parks system, this week President Bush is again trying to save his legacy by touting national service after years of cutting critical programs that foster volunteerism across our country," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "Americans are looking for a new direction from President Bush, not more photo-ops and staged events."

Bush's 2008 Budget Includes Deep Reductions In National Service Programs. "The FY08 budget once again proposes deep reductions in national service programs like VISTA, which would be cut by $5.7 million. Also, AmeriCorps State and National grants would be cut by $9.2 million. And finally, one of the four National Civilian Community Corps centers would be closed, for a cut to the program of $15 million." [Press Release, Senator John Kerry, 2/5/07]

In 2004, Bush Touted Americorps Then Proposed Eliminating Key Americorps Program, The NCCC, In 2006. "Two years ago, Bush had his picture taken in Florida with idealistic young members of the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), a small, team-based AmeriCorps program that works on environmental and disaster relief projects. 'I'm a strong believer in AmeriCorps,' he said. 'I want to thank you for your service, thank you for your hard work and may God continue to bless you and your families as you pursue your dreams.' Now, those dreams are at risk of being deferred. In his fiscal year 2007 budget, the president is proposing not just to trim the NCCC, but to eliminate the $25 million program altogether." [Newsweek, 5/9/06; Newsweek]

Bush: Fight Terror By Joining USA Freedom Corps. "If people want to fight terror, do something kind for a neighbor, join the USA Freedom Corps, love somebody, mentor a child, stand up to evil with acts of goodness and kindness." [President Bush, 1/31/02, CNN]

• Bush Advocated Cutting Off All Funding For Americorps; USA Freedom Corps Not A Program But Merely A Clearinghouse For Other Oganizations. "USA Freedom Corps isn't a program of national service, it's a clearing-house for other volunteer organizations. (If you go to the organization's Web site at www.usafreedomcorps.gov, you can plug in your zip code to find organizations that are looking for volunteers and sign up to help.) But that might be the point. The 2002 annual report of the USA Freedom Corps noted that Bush wants to reform AmeriCorps so that members receive "no support from government." But cutting the benefits given to AmeriCorps volunteers - and thus limiting the program, for all practical purposes, to volunteers of means - impoverishes the program in more ways than one. Not only will there be fewer volunteers overall, but there will be even fewer people volunteering for the program." [Boston Phoenix, Editorial, 6/27-7/3/03, emphasis added]