Bush announces €2 trillion spending plan

President Bush sent Congress a €2.07 trillion spending plan today that would accelerate tax cuts to bolster the weak economy, overhaul some of the US government’s biggest social programmes and shower billions of additional dollars on defence and homeland security.

Even though hundreds of other government programmes would be squeezed, the president projects the deficit will still hit record highs of €282bn this year and €285bn in 2004.