2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 ____ NATION/WORLD Looking for a career that radiates success? Then talk to someone who knows science. Budget defecit forcast grows WASHINGTON (AP) - As Con- gress started to digest a new Bush administration request of $80 billion to bankroll wars in Iraq and Afghani- stan, its top budget analyst yesterday projected $855 billion in deficits for the next decade even without the costs of war and President Bush's Social Security plan. Three senior administration officials said the White House would request $80 billion for the wars, or a bit more, soon after Bush submits his budget for fiscal 2006 to lawmakers on Feb. 7. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program has not yet been announced, said $75 billion of it would be for U.S. military costs, with the rest including funds to train and equip Iraqi and Afghan forces, aid the new Palestinian leadership, build an embassy in Baghdad and help victims of warfare in Sudan's Darfur province. Congress approved $25 billion for the wars last summer. Using figures com- piled by the Congressional Research Service, which prepares reports for law- makers, the newest request would push the totals provided for the conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism past $300 billion. That includes $25 billion already provided for rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan. In a written statement, Bush said the money would support U.S. troops and help the United States "stand with the Iraqi people and against the terrorists trying desperately to block democracy and the advance of human rights." Amid the White House's prepara- tions, the Congressional Budget Office predicted the government will accumu- late another $855 billion in deficits over the next decade. The projection, for the years 2006 through 2015, is almost two-thirds smaller than what congressional bud- get analysts predicted last fall. The drop is due largely to quirks in budget estimates that required the agency to exclude future Iraq and Afghanistan war costs and other expenses. Last September, the 10-year deficit esti- mate was $2.3 trillion. The CBO also projected this year's shortfall will be $368 billion. That was close to the $348 billion deficit for 2005 that it had forecast last fall. The two largest deficits ever in dollar terms were last year's $412 billion and the $377 bil- lion gap of 2003. The budget office estimated that if U.S. troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan declines gradually after 2006, those wars would add $590 bil- lion to deficits over the next decade. Including war costs, this year's short- fall should hit about $400 billion, the budget office said. Bush: reforms hB 19 ^ tobenelit blacks WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Bush told black leaders yesterday that his plan to add private accounts to Social Security would benefit blacks since they tend to have shorter lives than some other Americans and end up pay- ing in more than they get out. Social Security was one of many issues that came up during Bush's pri- vate meeting with 14 clergy and 10 lead- ers from business and nonprofit groups. Exit polls showed that Bush received just 11 percent of the black vote in Novem- ber's election, a slight increase over the 9 percent he received four years earlier. Bush and his strategists are under no illusions of winning the black vote for Republicans in the near future. But they believe that any, advances on this and other minority voting blocks could make the differ- ence in close elections. Bush planned to meet with the Con- gressional Black Caucus, a group of 43 Democrats today. The caucus had an adversarial relationship with Bush in his first term, but Rep. Melvin Watt (D- N.C.) the group's new chairman, said members are hoping to find common ground with Bush in his new term. Manv of the neonle at the meeting BAGHDAD, Iraq American pleads for his life on video An American hostage pleaded for his life with a rifle pointed at his head in a video released yesterday, while nine Iraqis, including a senior judge, were killed in a series of attacks that highlighted the security risks ahead of this weekend's elections. On a day that the U.S. military said six American soldiers had died, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi also said the time was not right to talk of a U.S. troop withdrawal. Iraq must first build up its security forces to confront the insurgents, Allawi said. In the video, hostage Roy Hallums spoke slowly, rubbing his hands as he sat with the barrel of the rifle inches from his head. He said he had been arrested by a "resis- tance group" because "I have worked with American forces." He appealed to Arab leaders, including Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, to save his life. STRASBOURG, France Yushchenko pushes for EU membership New Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told Europe's top human rights body yesterday that his nation would push through democratic reforms to prepare itself for a bid to gain membership in the European Union. Yushchenko began his push for closer ties to the West by declaring, "We see our- selves as Europeans." He added that European Union strategy has to include the pros- pect of Ukraine membership. "Inside the country, we are going to reorganize the government so the process of integration into the EU becomes a real one," Yushchenko told legislators from the 46- nation Council of Europe. "One cannot open European doors with rhetoric but with performance. That is what my government will do,"he said. Even though the EU has excluded so far possible membership for Ukraine, Yushchenko insisted the strategy of the 25-nation bloc "has to comprise the membership prospect." He called EU membership "a simple formula for well-being and security." NOGALES, Arizona New technology to help border security U.S. officials want to see if the same technology that speeds cars through highway tolls and identifies lost pets can unclog border crossings without compromising security. Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson announced Yesterday that the government will begin testing radio frequency identification technology at this crossing and four others by midsummer. Weeding out potential terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals from shoppers, truckers and tourists who regularly pass through border cross- ings takes time. The RFID technology is designed to reduce the wait while giving authorities more information on who's coming into the country and who's leaving. WASHINGTON More students pass Advanced Placement tests In every state and the District of Columbia, more students are passing at least one Advanced Placement test, a sign of progress in a nation eager to improve college prepa- ration, the College Board reported yesterday. Significant gaps remain, however, as AP participation booms nationwide, accord- ing to the first state-by-state report in the 50-year history of the college-level testing program. Many students enter college without having passed an AP test, and black stu- dents have distinct challenges, with low test participation and test scores a level behind those of whites. Across the country, 13.2 percent of the high school class of 2004 demonstrated mastery of at least one AP course, up from 10.2 percent from the 2000 class. - Compiled from Daily wire reports M ARKETUPDATE TUES. 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