National Taxpayers Union Foundation: State of Union Speech's Price Tag Lowest in Five Years, Line-by-Line Analysis Finds

1/21/2004

From: Demian Brady or Pete Sepp, 703-683-5700, both of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation; web: http://www.ntu.org

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 21 -- In last night's speech to Congress George W. Bush proposed $5.9 billion in annual spending increases, the lowest rise among the last five Presidential State of the Union addresses, according to a detailed analysis released today by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF). Among the findings:

-- President Bush outlined items whose enactment would increase federal spending by a net of $5.894 billion per year, a fraction of the $51.9 billion in annual spending hikes he proposed in 2003 or the $106.6 billion in 2002. This overall level is the lowest NTUF has recorded among the five most recent State of the Union speeches. Bill Clinton claimed the biggest yearly spending boost, in his 1999 speech ($305 billion).

-- Unlike Bush's past State of the Union speeches, last night's address contained no discernable homeland-security or defense proposals that would have a direct impact on federal spending.

-- Among the proposals in Bush's speech identified as having a possible impact on federal spending, the most costly was passage of the stalled Energy Bill (an increase of at least $4.754 billion per year).

Yet, NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady, who conducted the study, cautioned that his findings could not confirm whether this rhetoric "marks a simple change in tactics or a true change of heart over budget deficits." Although the President called for a modest four percent increase last night, annual federal spending has risen at roughly twice that rate since Bush took office. In addition, other Administration proposals that conceivably carry massive long-term obligations - such as the Moon and Mars exploration initiative -- were not even mentioned in Bush's speech.

"Americans who are concerned about rising deficits might have been encouraged after hearing the President's words on behalf of spending restraint, but now they will be watching for actual deeds from the Administration and Congress," Brady concluded.

NTUF is the research affiliate of the 335,000-member National Taxpayers Union. For this analysis, NTUF matched Bush's proposals with those in its BillTally legislative cost accounting system and in White House documents. Note: A chart of the costs of President Bush's State of the Union proposals and a graphic comparison to previous speeches are available at http://www.ntu.org.