Bush sends Congress $2.90 trillion spending plan with big increases for the military

President George W. Bush sent a $2.90 trillion (EUR 2.2 trillion) spending plan to a Democratic-controlled Congress on Monday, proposing a big increase in military spending, including billions more to fight the war in Iraq, while squeezing the rest of the U.S. government to meet his goal of eliminating the deficit in five years.

Photo: Bush sends Congress .90 trillion spending plan with big increases for the military

Bush's plan would make tax cuts passed during his first term of office permanent, at a cost of $1.6 trillion (EUR 1.2 trillion) over 10 years. He is seeking $78 billion (EUR 60.3 billion) in savings in the government's big health care programs Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor over the next five years.

Release of the budget in four massive volumes kicks off months of debate in which Democrats, now in control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time in Bush's presidency, made clear that they have significantly different views on spending and taxes, reports AP.

"The president's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality and continues to move America in the wrong direction," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a Democrat.