Initial indications offer a mixed prognosis.
Candidates in the recent election campaigns identified several top priorities with budgetary implications. These included increasing military spending, cutting taxes, improving education, providing a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, paying down the federal debt, and keeping the federal funds budget balanced without touching the Social Security trust funds. Investing more in education, expanding Medicare to provide a prescription drug benefit, and paying down the publicly-held federal debt during a time of surplus are important goals which we at FCNL support. However, for the majority in Congress and for the White House, military spending, tax cuts, and balanced budgets top the list of budget priorities. When hard choices must be made, priorities such as education, health care, environmental protection, assistance to poor and low-income households, and overseas development assistance may be set aside.