During the 1970’s, the share of our national income devoted to this domestic spending increased by more than 60 percent, from 10 cents out of every dollar produced by the American people to 16 cents.  In spite of all our economies and efficiencies, and without adding any new programs, basic, necessary domestic spending provided for in this year’s budget will grow to almost a trillion dollars over the next 5 years.

The deficit problem is a clear and present danger to the basic health of our Republic.  We need a plan to overcome this danger—­a plan based on these principles.  It must be bipartisan.  Conquering the deficits and putting the Government’s house in order will require the best effort of all of us.  It must be fair.  Just as all will share in the benefits that will come from recovery, all would share fairly in the burden of transition.  It must be prudent.  The strength of our national defense must be restored so that we can pursue prosperity and peace and freedom while maintaining our commitment to the truly needy.  And finally, it must be realistic.  We can’t rely on hope alone.

With these guiding principles in mind, let me outline a four-part plan to increase economic growth and reduce deficits.

First, in my budget message, I will recommend a Federal spending freeze.  I know this is strong medicine, but so far, we have only cut the rate of increase in Federal spending.  The Government has continued to spend more money each year, though not as much more as it did in the past.  Taken as a whole, the budget I’m proposing for the fiscal year will increase no more than the rate of inflation.  In other words, the Federal Government will hold the line on real spending.  Now, that’s far less than many American families have had to do in these difficult times.

I will request that the proposed 6-month freeze in cost-of-living adjustments recommended by the bipartisan Social Security Commission be applied to other government-related retirement programs.  I will, also, propose a 1-year freeze on a broad range of domestic spending programs, and for Federal civilian and military pay and pension programs.  And let me say right here, I’m sorry, with regard to the military, in asking that of them, because for so many years they have been so far behind and so low in reward for what the men and women in uniform are doing.  But I’m sure they will understand that this must be across the board and fair.

Second, I will ask the Congress to adopt specific measures to control the growth of the so-called uncontrollable spending programs.  These are the automatic spending programs, such as food stamps, that cannot be simply frozen and that have grown by over 400 percent since 1970.  They are the largest single cause of the built-in or structural deficit problem.  Our standard here will be fairness, ensuring that the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars go only to the truly needy; that none of them are turned away, but that fraud and waste are stamped out.  And I’m sorry to say, there’s a lot of it out there.  In the food stamp program alone, last year, we identified almost $1.1 billion in overpayments.  The taxpayers aren’t the only victims of this kind of abuse.  The truly needy suffer as funds intended for them are taken not by the needy, but by the greedy.  For everyone’s sake, we must put an end to such waste and corruption.