The Clinton Budget: White House Issues Details of Plan to Shift Spending From Defense to Domestic Areas
WASHINGTON -- On the day of his first visit to the Pentagon, President Clinton released further details on his plans to shift spending from defense to domestic "investment" priorities.</br></br>In more than 1,400 pages, the White House fleshed out the five-year spending outline it released in February, with a focus on the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. As indicated then, spending in fiscal 1994 would rise for items ranging from rural development programs to global warming research to high-capacity telecommunications networks that would link schools, libraries and other information sources. Besides defense spending, outlays would fall for a variety of programs, including nuclear reactor development and federal crop insurance.</br></br>Congress has already moved beyond Mr. Clinton's plan. Last week lawmakers gave final approval to a nonbinding budget resolution that calls for cutting the federal budget deficit by $496 billion over five years, under congressional score-keeping methods. The White House proposal released yesterday puts down a marker for the administration's priorities as appropriations committees begin to work on specific spending items for fiscal 1994.</br></br>Under the Clinton proposal, total outlays for fiscal 1994 would rise to $1.515 trillion, up 3.2% from $1.468 trillion in 1993. That compares with fiscal 1994 outlays of $1.496 trillion under the congressional resolution. It would take outlays of $1.527 trillion to maintain the current level of government services, the White House budget office says.</br></br>Revenues would rise to $1.251 trillion in fiscal 1994, up 9.2% from $1.146 trillion in fiscal 1993. That compares with $1.242 trillion under the congressional resolution. Without any tax increases, the administration estimates that receipts would be $1.215 trillion.