McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and A Balanced Budget

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain would balance the budget as president

WASHINGTON, April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John McCain says he "will not
leave office without balancing the federal budget" and at times has said he
would even balance the budget by the end of his first term. [johnmccain.com,
accessed 4/15/08; AP, 2/15/08]

But the truth is, McCain's economic proposals would balloon the deficit, not
shrink it. McCain has actually proposed trillions of dollars in new spending
--including financing a 100-year, $12-billion-per-month troop presence in Iraq
and making President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent.
But still no word on how he plans to pay for it. [New York Times, 4/15/08; DNC
Research Document, Released 4/15/08; Senate Budget Committee Fact Sheet,
1/24/08]

But the numbers just don't add up. So, Senator McCain, where's the straight
talk?

McCain Says He Wants to Balance the Budget Before He Leaves Office. McCain's
campaign website says that "John McCain Has The Leadership And Courage To Make
The Right Spending Choices. Reduced spending means making choices. John McCain
will not leave office without balancing the federal budget. He will not do it
with smoke and mirrors. When he leaves office, he wants to leave a budget that
stays balanced after he is gone, and can weather the occasional downturn and
unexpected contingency. John McCain will provide the courageous leadership
necessary to control spending..." [johnmccain.com, accessed 4/15/08]

McCain Claims His Goal Is A Balanced Budget. The Associated Press reported
that "Campaigning in LaCrosse, Wis., McCain said he would propose a balanced
budget in his first term if he is elected president - but not necessarily in
his first year. 'I've got to give you some straight talk: I doubt, given the
deficits we're running, that I can propose a balanced budget in the first
year...But that's my goal. It has to do out goal, because we're mortgaging
these young people's future.'" [AP, 2/15/08]

McCain Doesn't Explain How He Will Pay For His Plans. According to the New
York Times, "Mr. McCain said that the savings from eliminating earmarks,
reviewing federal programs and other budget reforms would be 'on the order of
$100 billion annually,' and that he would apply those savings to lowering
business taxes. But it was unclear how Mr. McCain plans to pay for the other
tax cuts that he outlined while the nation incurs large expenses fighting the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." [New York Times, 4/15/08]

McCain's Plans Would Add Trillions In New Spending. A DNC Analysis of McCain's
new spending proposals show they would total between $7.2 trillion and $8.7
trillion, while the savings he's proposed would total $183 billion, leaving a
short-fall of $7 trillion to $8.5 trillion over ten years. [DNC Research
Document, Released 4/15/08]

Cost of "Four More Years" Placed At $6.3 TRILLION. A CBO report called
"January Budget and Economic Outlook" showed continued deterioration in the
budget outlook with the projected 2008 deficit growing to $219 billion. But as
bad as the budget situation has become under the current Republican
Administration, continuation of the Republican policies by any of the
Republicans on stage tonight will only make things worse. The majority staff
of the Senate Budget Committee estimates that funding Republican priorities
like making the Bush tax cuts permanent and funding ongoing - and perhaps
permanent - operations in Iraq will add $6.3 trillion to the CBO's already
dismal ten-year predictions.
[http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2008/cbojanupdatefactsheet2008.pdf]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking
in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican
Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail
McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even
contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate
Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The
Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the
man behind the myth.

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

Damien LaVera of the DNC, +1-202-863-8148