Crapo receives President's Budget

Washington, DC â?? Idaho Senator Mike Crapo had his first opportunity to begin review of the delivery of President Bushâ??s request for fiscal year 2004 budget. As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, Crapo joined with other Committee members at the delivery of the budget on Capitol Hill. Total government spending contained in the proposal will be $2.2 trillion, a 4.2 percent increase over 2003 levels. The budget outline keeps interest on federal debt below 10 percent, and reduces the federal deficit by nearly $120 billion by 2008.â??This year will be a challenge from a budgetary standpoint,â?? Crapo said. â??We are facing many priorities like funding the war on terrorism, and improving the economy and creating jobs. We must maintain a sound fiscal posture, even when facing these urgent priorities. The blueprint provided by this budget proposal appears to take into account the concerns that I share with many others regarding the federal deficit. We need to keep government spending in line, and I will be closely examining the proposal in the days and weeks to come to ascertain if we are indeed moving along a track that will bring federal government spending back in the black. As a member of the Budget Committee, I will be able to bring the common sense views and priorities of Idaho to the table and I look forward to that.â??Crapo will be among a small group of Senators responsible for writing the budget this year. The Presidentâ??s budget submission signals the beginning of several months of intense planning and negotiations regarding the federal spending plan for the coming fiscal year.The Budget Committee held hearings last week on the state of the economy, and this week will hold two hearings to learn more about the details of the Presidentâ??s proposal.A satellite feed with Crapo and the budget proposal is available this afternoon:2:00-2:15 p.m. Mountain/1:00-1:15 p.m. PacificGalaxy 3Transponder 7 HorizontalDownlink 3840Standard audio# # #