Bush proposes cuts for 141 programs

Major Savings and Reforms in the President’s 2007 Budget

The document, titled “Major Savings and Reforms in the President’s 2007 Budget,” lists by department the programs on the chopping block. It gives background on the programs and a history of past termination proposals.

The Bush administration asks for the termination of 91 of the 141 programs for a savings of $7.3 billion in discretionary spending compared with the enacted fiscal 2006 amounts, according to the document. The administration seeks major reductions in 50 programs, with $7.4 billion in estimated savings. Bush also proposes reforming 16 programs to save $5.7 billion, compared with 2006, the document states.

Last year, the president proposed ending or cutting funding for 154 programs, and Congress agreed on 89 of them. According to an OMB press release, the cuts saved $6.5 billion.

“Congress substantially delivered on the president’s spending restraint goals last year," OMB Director Joshua Bolten said in the press release.

This year’s savings proposals build on Congress’ action last year, which reduced mandatory spending by nearly $40 billion in five years, according to the release.

The document details the administration’s proposals to reduce that spending by $65 billion in five years. In his State of the Union address, Bush proposed the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the effect of the baby boomers’ retirement on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

The document also describes several proposals for reform of the budget process to help control spending, including:

• Restoring the line-item veto.


• Requiring that legislation increasing mandatory spending be offset by equal reductions in mandatory spending.


• Creating commissions to review programs and their results and make recommendations about whether to retain, reform or terminate them.