Fact Sheet: Balancing the Budget While Keeping Taxes Low

President Bush's Pro-Growth Policies Are Helping Reduce The Deficit And Keep Our Economy Growing

Today, President Bush Visited Nashville, Tennessee, Where He Discussed How We Can Keep Our Economy Growing, Keep Taxes Low, And Stay On Track To Balance The Federal Budget. The President believes the American people know how to spend their money better than the government - so government should restrain spending and keep taxes low. Since the President took office, we have cut taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, doubled the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, cut taxes on dividends and capital gains, and put the Federal death tax on the road to extinction.

• The President Toured The Nashville Bun Company, Which Has Benefited From Incentives Under His Tax Relief For Small Businesses To Invest In New Equipment And Expand. The Nashville Bun Company was established in 1999 as a bun packaging center and storage facility for affiliate Tennessee Bun Company. It has since used the President's tax relief to help expand its trucking company from providing approximately 10 jobs in 2003 to 40 jobs today; to help purchase new inventory warehouse scanning equipment totaling $85,000; and to help offset the costs of $2.5 million in capital improvements, which included starting a new line of English muffins at their Nashville plant in 2001.

The President's Tax Relief Has Helped Grow Our Economy And Put Us On The Path To A Balanced Budget

Since The Tax Cuts Took Full Effect In 2003, Our Economy Has Added More Than 8.2 Million Jobs In 46 Months Of Uninterrupted Job Growth. In addition, since tax relief legislation was first enacted in 2001, our economy has expanded by more than $1.9 trillion - an amount larger than the entire economy of Canada.

• Combined With Spending Restraint, Growing Tax Revenues Have Helped Us Reduce The Federal Deficit Without Raising Taxes. In the past two years, Federal tax receipts increased 28 percent, and this year they are expected to increase another 7 percent, or $167 billion. The Office of Management and Budget's Midsession Review, released on July 11, estimates this growth will help shrink the deficit to $205 billion this year - $208 billion less than in 2004.
• Following The Path Of President Bush's FY 2008 Budget Would Lead To A Budget Surplus In 2012 Of $33 Billion. President Bush's FY 2008 Budget lays out a detailed plan to balance the budget in the next five years while keeping taxes low. It keeps annual spending under control and addresses our long-term budgetary challenge - the unsustainable growth in entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

The Tax-And-Spend Policies Proposed By Democrats Would Threaten Economic Growth And Deficit Reduction

Democrats Passed A Budget Resolution That Calls For $205 Billion In Additional Domestic Spending Over The Next Five Years - And Will Lead To The Largest Tax Increase In American History. In addition, Democrats' budget resolution contains no plan to slow the growth of entitlement programs, which is our Nation's biggest budgetary challenge.

The President Will Veto Appropriations Bills That Threaten Deficit Reduction With Overspending. Democrats' tax-and-spend policies are policies of the past. The President proposed a responsible level of discretionary spending in his FY 2008 Budget, and he will veto annual spending bills that exceed this level.

• The President Has Also Proposed Reforms To Make The Earmark Process More Transparent And Cut The Number And Cost Of Earmarks By At Least Half.

President Bush Calls On Democrats In Congress To Pass The 12 Basic Spending Bills Needed To Keep The Federal Government Running. At the rate they are now going, Democrats will have passed none of these bills before they go on their August recess. When they return, they will have less than a month before the fiscal year ends on September 30th. Democrats should get their work done and pass each bill individually by the October 1 deadline.