Ian Crosswhite permanently dismissed from team | 9
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Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 102 \ Wednesday, February 16, 2005
FINANCING THE MILITARY
Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
The Marine Corps and Army would be among the recipients of the $82 billion in supplemental military funding President Bush requested Monday. The request includes
$5.3 million to begin restructuring the Army and Marines.
Bush requests $82 billion addition
The proposed budget increase would boost funding
for military equipment and tsunami-affected areas
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
President Bush asked Congress
on Monday for an additional
$81.9 billion next year to pay for
military and intelligence opera
tions in Iraq and Afghanistan as
well as benefits for the survivors of
service members and tsunami re
lief. The action clarified one of
several elusive items not included
in last week’s initial budget
proposal that may affect the ad
ministration’s plans to deflate the
federal deficit.
Homeland security and defense
spending were already slated to
get a boost next year at the ex
pense of domestic programs un
der the initial $2.57 trillion federal
budget Bush submitted last week.
The original proposal, which
will likely face difficulties in
Congress, is the first one to in
clude cuts to non-defense discre
tionary spending since the
Reagan administration.
It cuts spending in nine of 15
cabinet-level departments, de
creasing overall non-defense dis
cretionary spending by about
one percent.
It also includes efforts to imple
ment permanent tax cuts during
Bush’s first term.
The budget reflects Bush’s re
cent promise in the Feb. 2 State
of the Union address to keep
spending increases below infla
tion and stay on track to cut the
deficit in half by 2009 by freezing
domestic discretionary spending
for five years.
Yet the original proposal does
not include expenses that would
be incurred from the ongoing
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
from efforts to make prior tax cuts
permanent and from controversial
changes to Medicare, University
political science assistant profes
sor Eric McGhee said.
“All of these things are not triv
ial costs,” he said. “They’ve done
everything they can in this budget
to not include these costs. That’s
the thing that’s striking about it.”
The supplemental request
released Monday would earmark
$12 billion to repair, refurbish
or obtain equipment to replace
items worn out during Operation
Enduring Freedom and Opera
tion Iraqi Freedom, including
$3.3 billion to armor convoy
trucks and buy helicopter surviv
ability systems.
It also includes $7.4 billion
to aid Iraqi and Afghan security
forces; $5.3 billion to begin
restructuring the Marine Corps
and Army into self-sufficient,
modular units; $2 billion to help
rebuild Afghanistan; $400 million
for the survivors of service mem
bers; and $950 million for areas
affected by the tsunami.
Bush said the money will allow
U.S. forces to “play a critical role”
in working to cement democracy
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The majority of this request
will ensure that our troops
continue to get what they need
to protect themselves and com
plete their mission,” Bush said
in a statement Monday. “It also
provides for the continued
pursuit of al-Qaida and other ter
rorist elements in Afghanistan
and elsewhere.”
Bush urged Congress to “move
] 2006 FEDERAL BUDGET [
The Bush
proposal
President Bush on Monday released full
details of his $2.57 trillion budget.
The 2006 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Outlays
(The total amount of
money for spending)
Spending breakdown
The president and Congress decide on discretion
ary spending. Mandatory spending includes pro
grams such as Social Security and Medicaid.
$2.57
trillion
. '
if!
Receipts
$2.18
trillion
(Income)
Deficit
$390
billion
Total spending • $2.57 trillion
Discretionary
spending
36.3%
$922 billion
Mandatory
spending
55.4%
$1.41 trillion
Interest
8.3%
$211
billion
NOTE: Does not include a $25 billion proposed supplemental
SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget
AP
quickly so our troops and diplo
mats have the tools they need
to succeed.”
McGhee said the initial propos
al differs from past budgets issued
by the Bush administration be
cause it tries to cut discretionary
spending, or spending Congress
can decide whether to approve
each year.
“It makes a lot of efforts at cut
ting discretionary spending and
not many efforts at cutting
Medicare or Social Security,” he
said. “They don’t tackle those big
entitlement programs. That’s
where all the money is.”
McGhee said cutting only
discretionary spending won’t low
er the federal deficit, as the
administration predicts.
“When you’re attacking dis
cretionary spending, you’re at
tacking a chunk of the federal
budget that is actually smaller in
total than the deficit,” he said.
“You could actually shut down
the federal government ... and
cancel every discretionary
program,... and you still wouldn’t
solve the federal deficit.”
He said the administration may
cut some large programs with its
proposed Social Security reforms,
but costs from new prescription
drug benefits offered by Medicare
would outweigh those savings.
“What they’re doing is trying
to make a show of deficit reduc
tion, but in reality there’s not
much in the budget that does
that,” he said.
During the 1990s, President
Clinton and the Republican Con
gress came to an agreement about
how to cut the deficit that in
volved some tax increases and ad
justments to entitlement pro
grams, McGhee said. Because
Bush has said he won’t raise tax
es, he can’t use that method.
He added that discretionary
spending has generally increased
since Bush took office, during
a time when tax receipts
have decreased.
“It’s an uphill battle to get to a
FUNDS, page 6
ASUO court
dismisses
attempt to
begin recall
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The ASUO Constitution Court on Thesday
denied a University sophomore’s request
to begin gathering signatures to initiate a re
call of the ASUO Executive and the ASUO
Student Senate.
The court rejected computer science major
Silas Snider’s petition because it “does not con
form to the requirements of bringing a matter
before the Court” as defined in court rules, ac
cording to the decision.
Snider filed the request because he was
concerned by student government leaders’ ac
tions on an Oct. 8-10 Sunriver retreat, at
which ASUO officials drank alcohol and
smoked marijuana, a violation of the Student
Conduct Code.
The court opinion, written by Chief Justice
Randy Derrick, stated that Snider’s paperwork
fails to meet the requirement of Rule 10.1.1.5,
which states that petitions must contain “a
concise statement of the case containing the
facts material to the consideration of the ques
tions presented.”
Snider didn’t specify the nature and specific in
stances of the “alleged incidents that occurred at
the Sunriver retreat” or the specific rules and reg
ulations the students violated as a result of their
actions, according to the decision.
“In reviewing the facts material to the case,
the Court is bound to review the petition based
on its merits and without interference from
PETITION, page 12
Former Chi
Psi pledges
accept suit
settlement
The two men sought damages
for injuries sustained when the
fraternity house's balcony collapsed
BY KARA I1ANSEN
NEWS REPORTER
Two former Chi Psi Fraternity pledges who
filed a lawsuit after a balcony at their fraternity
house collapsed and left them injured avoided a
trial Tliesday after accepting a settlement for an
unidentified amount of money.
Nathan Baston and former University student
McDaniel Brookman were suing the Chi Psi Fra
ternity, its local chapter and its associates for
about $1.5 million after a second-story balcony
they were standing on at the Chi Psi house col
lapsed and sent them sprawling onto the ground.
Brookman and Baston received an unidenti
fied amount of money in a confidential settle
ment reached in December 2004, according to
the office of their attorney, Neil Lathen.
In the lawsuit, filed in December 2003,
Brookman and Baston claimed Chi Psi Fraterni
ty members ushered them onto a second-story
balcony at the house at 1018 Hilyard St., along
with a group of other students pledging the
LAWSUIT, page 12