President Bush said Saturday that he’s confident he can find common ground with Democrats, who took control of Congress last week, in the next two years.
Bush, in his weekly radio address, said he wants to work with Democrats to balance the federal budget, reduce wasteful spending and reauthorize his No Child Left Behind education measure, which requires schools to conduct annual tests of students in math and science.
“Democrats and Republicans will have many opportunities to serve the American people,” Bush said. “We must rise to meet those opportunities and build a stronger and more compassionate nation for generations to come.”
Bush, who gives his State of the Union address before Congress on Jan. 23, said he will propose a five-year spending plan that balances the budget in 2012. He leaves office in January 2009.
White House budget director Rob Portman said Bush will propose a fiscal 2008 budget for the year beginning Oct. 1 of between $2.8 trillion and $2.9 trillion, up from this year’s $2.77 trillion.
Portman’s office projected in July that the deficit would be $339 billion this fiscal year, up from $248 billion last year. The Office of Management and Budget estimated the deficit would narrow to $188 billion in 2008.
