The clearest winners are military personnel, beneficiaries of Bush's promise to improve their pay and quality of life. Democrats said the increase was closer to 6 percent. The budget proposed more than doubling aid to Colombia's Andean neighbors to prevent that country's drug war from spilling over their borders. The office is part of Bush's New Freedom Initiative. For Mars missions, the budget also assumes an increase in future years, estimated to be on the order of a few hundred million dollars.
Exact amounts are unclear.
The budget also would fund an additional 34,000 vouchers to help low-income families find affordable apartments. Housing advocates note that 79,000 new vouchers were funded this year. The budget boosts funding for replacing aging infrastructure in national parks. News Jobs AP Shopping Archives Entertain.