Bush touts dropping deficit as sign of success

President Bush pointed to declining federal deficit numbers released Thursday to portray himself as a fiscal conservative and warn congressional Democrats against raising taxes.

{mosads}Separately, the White House warned in a press release that the Democrats’ “tax and spend” agenda threatened economic growth and a balanced budget. President Bush has threatened to veto several appropriations measures approved this year by the House.

“It’s very important for — for Congress to also understand that they should not be trying to take money out of the pockets of the small-business owners and working people,” Bush told reporters. “One of the reasons why this economy is robust is because taxes are low. And in order to keep making sure that this economy grows, we’ve got to keep them low.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) countered that the rising federal debt has grown from $3 trillion in 2001 to $9 trillion. He said Bush was “desperately trying to remake his image as a fiscal conservative” but that his efforts were “too little, too late.”

He also faulted Bush for calling for more spending in Iraq, a strategy House Democrats plan to use this month as they battle the administration over spending bills. Bush “will go down in history as the most fiscally irresponsible president ever,” according to Conrad.  

The Treasury Department and Office of Management and Budget announced the federal deficit in 2007 would be $163 billion, down from the $244 billion deficit projected in February. Bush said higher than expected tax revenue was responsible for the lower deficit.