To: "homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org" <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [Homestead] Budget savings: one month's expenses in Iraq
Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2005 07:57:01 -0600
Pay attention people, this is just another part a pattern that has become
obvious with this administration: whack the poor and help the rich.
Senate Passes Plan to Cut $35 Billion From Deficit
By Jonathan WeismanWashington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 4, 2005; Page A01
The Senate approved sweeping deficit-reduction legislation last night that
would save about $35 billion over the next five years by cutting federal
spending on prescription drugs, agriculture supports and student loans,
while clamping down on fraud in the Medicaid program.
The measure would also open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling, a long-sought goal of the oil industry that took a major step
forward after years of political struggle. A bipartisan effort to strip the
The Senate bill, which passed 52 to 47, is the first in nearly a decade to
tackle the growth of entitlement spending, the part of the federal budget
that rises automatically based on set formulas and population changes.
It would shave payments to some farmers by 2.5 percent, while eliminating a
major cotton support program and trimming agriculture conservation
spending. A proposal to limit payments to rich farmers failed yesterday.