Umm, Well, About Those Budget Cuts We Said Wouldn’t Happen…

A few months ago the White House denied that they were intending budget cuts across the board for domestic programs over the coming years. Now the Washington Post reports that widespread domestic budget cuts are exactly what they’ve decided to do:

The White House put government agencies on notice this month that if President Bush is reelected, his budget for 2006 may include spending cuts for virtually all agencies in charge of domestic programs, including education, homeland security and others that the president backed in this campaign year.

Administration officials had dismissed the significance of the proposed cuts when they surfaced in February as part of an internal White House budget office computer printout. At the time, officials said the cuts were based on a formula and did not accurately reflect administration policy. But a May 19 White House budget memorandum obtained by The Washington Post said that agencies should assume the spending levels in that printout when they prepare their fiscal 2006 budgets this summer.

Kash