&#36;388B Budget Is Lean, but Trouble Lurks
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How bad is the government's deficit problem? The just-passed &#36;388 billion bill financing almost every federal agency in 2005 could be eliminated and there would still be red ink.
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Lawmakers and White House budget bargainers whittled their differences to a handful, fueling hopes Congress can speed an overdue &#36;388 billion bill to President Bush that finances most federal agencies.
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For the third time in a month, an analysis of state finances is warning that budget deficits and spending cuts are on the way.
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White House officials and Congress' top budget writers tried rallying support Tuesday for President Bush's &#36;2.57 trillion budget, but cracks in Republican unity showed as lawmakers digested the plan's proposed spending cuts.
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The U.S. Congress on Saturday passed  a $388 billion package financing government programs in this  fiscal year after days of battling over spending cuts and  priorities for programs including foreign aid, energy and a  presidential yacht.
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WASHINGTON -- State finances remained stable so far this fiscal year, with revenues on target or better and fewer states spending more than they planned, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported.
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By Fraser Sherman, Destin Log, Fla.  Dec. 9--No matter how much effort city officials put into preparing a city budget, it can't budget for everything.
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The House, in a bipartisan 344-51 vote, approved a $388 billion spending bill funding much of the federal government. The figure is 2 percent less than the same programs got last year.
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An accounting change that could cost schools and libraries an estimated &#36;1 billion in aid drew fire Tuesday from senators who said they were blindsided by the move.
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New figures show shortfall reaching $368 billion in fiscal 2005, not counting war costs.
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The State Department finished an intensive review this week on how best to spend &#36;18.4 billion in U.S. aid to Iraq and may shift focus to smaller-scale projects, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a &#36;111.7 billion no-new-taxes budget Monday and proposed to close an &#36;8.1 billion deficit by borrowing money and holding the line on spending growth throughout state government.
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A decision by the state&#39;s tightfisted finance director to step down has fueled speculation inside the Capitol about a possible shift on spending issues by Gov.
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One major unmentioned entry in President Bush's new budget is luck. Luck that the economy keeps growing, that corporate profits remain robust, that inflation stays tame and that foreigners keep lending the U.S. money. Otherwise, the numbers don't add up.
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Political and fiscal constraints will make it hard for Democratic critics of the presidentâs budget to assert their priorities.
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Republicans whisked a &#36;388 billion spending bill through Congress on Saturday, a mammoth measure that underscores the dominance of deficit politics by curbing dollars for everything from education to environmental cleanups.
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The U.S. budget deficit will reach  $368 billion this year before any war costs are added in, the  Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday, according to a  source familiar with the worse-than-expected numbers.