WASHINGTON -- The American people would like to significantly change next year's federal budget, reversing key proposals by the administration of President George W. Bush, according to a new poll.

Given the chance to look at and make changes to the major areas of Bush's proposed discretionary budget for fiscal year 2006, which begins on Oct. 1, 2005, around two-thirds redirected money to reduce the budget deficit, said the poll released Monday by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA).

''The American public as a whole takes a fairly coherent position. They favor redirecting a portion of defense spending to deficit reduction and social spending and look for savings by cutting spending on large-scale Cold War style capabilities,'' said PIPA director Steven Kull.

Republican and Democratic poll participants alike would take the budget axe to spending on defense and on Iraq and Afghanistan, plowing more funds into education, job training, veterans, and reducing U.S. reliance on oil, the poll found.

The changes they would make would amount to a major redirecting of U.S. foreign and defense policy and reverse key social spending cuts proposed in the Bush administration's budget.

Of nearly 1,200 U.S. adults surveyed, 61 percent reallocated money to reducing the budget deficit. On average, they earmarked an additional $36 billion to cut the overhang. Democrats averaged $39.4 billion and Republicans $29.6 billion.

Defense spending received the deepest cut--an average of 31 percent or the equivalent of around $134 billion--with 65 percent of survey participants doing the cutting. The second largest area to be cut was the supplemental spending for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, with two out of three respondents opting to cut the funding, by an average of $29.6 billion or 35 percent.

Also cut were transportation (cut $12.6 billion or 18 percent), federal administration of justice ($8.7 billion or 21 percent), and space research and science ($1.2 billion or five percent). Majorities of 53-58 percent of respondents favored cuts in each of these cases, PIPA said.

Homeland Security, however, received a robust average increase of $10.5 billion or 38 percent, though only 41 percent of respondents favored increases.

Some 63 percent of respondents said they favored rolling back tax cuts for people with incomes in excess of $200,000. Opposition to the tax cuts was strongest among the 62 percent of respondents who said the budget deficit was large. The survey found there would be greater support for the tax cuts were they not specifically limited to the wealthy.

The largest increases were for social spending. Education was increased $26.8 billion or 39 percent and respondents proposed boosting job training and employment by $19 billion--or 263 percent.

Medical research was given an additional injection of $15.5 billion or 53 percent. Veterans' benefits were raised 40 percent or $12.5 billion and housing was buttressed with a 31 percent budget raise, or $9.3 billion.

In most cases, PIPA said, clear majorities of respondents backed those increases: education drew extra support from 57 percent of survey participants; job training, from 67 percent; medical research, from 57 percent, and veterans' benefits, from 63 percent. Only 43 percent of respondents favored increases for housing.

In percentage terms, by far the largest increase was for conserving and developing renewable energy--a boost of 1090 percent or $24 billion, supported by 70 percent of respondents.

The environment and natural resources received an increase of 32 percent or $9 billion, with 42 percent of respondents favoring increases, PIPA said.

As respondents had proposed large defense cuts, they were asked what areas they would want to axe. Majorities favored trimming the capability for large-scale nuclear wars, the number of nuclear weapons, and spending on developing new types of nuclear weapons.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents also proposed reducing U.S. capabilities for large-scale naval and land wars. Majorities also favored cutting spending on new types of naval destroyers, bombers, and submarines.

However, respondents preserved spending for troops, including for salaries (with 82 percent in support), the overall number of military personnel (61 percent supporting), and development of new equipment for infantry and Marines (64 percent supporting).

Spending to fight terrorism also was preserved, including for intelligence (62 percent of participants favored leaving the budget untouched), troops for special operations (58 percent supporting), and advanced communications systems (69 percent supporting).

Capabilities to conduct peacekeeping also were untouched, with 58 percent of respondents supporting no reduction in spending. Fifty-six percent agreed with Bush's proposed spending levels to fight insurgents or guerrillas and 55 percent supported the administration's allocation for work on new types of high-technology missiles and bombs, PIPA said.

In contrast to the large defense cuts, respondents made substantial increases to forms of U.S. ''soft power.'' The United Nations and U.N. peacekeeping received one of the largest percentage increases, going up an average of 207 percent or $4.8 billion.

Survey participants raised spending on economic and humanitarian aid an average of $3.2 billion or 23 percent, military aid by $4.7 billion or 53 percent, and the State Department allocation by $3.2 billion, also 53 percent. However, in all these cases only 25-39 percent pushed for these increases.

When asked how the United States should deal with its military commitments to protect other countries, 69 percent said ''the US should only spend enough to protect itself and to join in efforts to protect countries together with allies or through the U.N.'' Only 17 percent thought Washington should spend enough to protect other countries on its own and 11 percent said the U.S. should only protect itself and not other countries.

PIPA is a joint program of the University of Maryland's Center on Policy Attitudes and Center for International and Security Studies. It conducted its budget poll on Feb. 18-25 with a randomly selected nationwide sample of 1,182 U.S. adults.

Copyright © 2005 OneWorld.net.

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