States and over 170 localities, along with the private sector, have joined the Federal effort to move chronically homeless individuals from the streets into permanent supportive housing.

The Budget provides record resources for the Nation's homeless. The Budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development includes $1.4 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, $200 million more than in 2005. The Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) estimates that one-third of the adult homeless population are veterans. VA's homeless assistance programs now constitute the largest integrated network of services in the United States and serve approximately 40,000 homeless veterans annually. The Budget provides $231 million to support directly the VA's efforts to combat homelessness among the Nation's veterans-and an additional $1.5 billion for medical care to homeless veterans.

Upholding Our Values in the World

President Bush visits with volunteers at a center for homeless adults and children.

The Administration supports compassionate programs overseas as well. America leads the world in providing hunger relief and medicine, as well as support and manpower to deliver aid to those afflicted by the ravages of war, persecution, natural disasters, and disease. President Bush has brought international scrutiny to human trafficking networks. And he has led a global effort to treat those with HIV/AIDS and prevent the spread of this disease, which claimed the lives of more than three million people in 2003.

The effort against HIV/AIDS starts at home. Domestically, the President has requested record levels of funding to combat HIV/AIDS. The 2006 Budget requests a total domestic HIV/AIDS budget of $17.4 billion. He has also stated his support for the reauthorization of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act based upon the principles of focusing Federal resources on life-extending care; ensuring flexibility to target resources to address areas of greatest need; and ensuring accountability and results.

Overseas, President Bush has launched an ambitious $15 billion, five-year Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Since the President announced the Emergency Plan in his 2003 State of the Union Address, the United States has provided $5.2 billion for the fight against global HIV/AIDS. The 2006 Budget requests an additional $3.2 billion for this effort. The U.S. Government has made remarkable progress during the Emergency Plan's first year of implementation. In the first eight months of President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the United States supported training for more than 312,000 service providers and supported more than 14,000 sites where prevention, treatment, and care services are provided in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Under the Emergency Plan, the Administration is committed to preventing seven million new HIV-infections; treating two million HIV-infected people; and caring for 10 million people affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans.

As part of these efforts, the United States is also working with international organizations like UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The Bush Administration provided the founding contribution to the Global Fund, and the United States remains the world's largest donor.

Indonesians affected by the December 2004 tsunami receive food aid from the United States.

While the United States response to the HIV/AIDS crisis is an outstanding example, this Nation has always been a world leader in providing hunger, disaster, and other humanitarian relief. When an earthquake and tsunami struck the Indian Ocean basin in December 2004, the United States led recovery efforts with a coordinated response with our armed forces deployed to the region. Assistance included food aid, medical assistance, water filtration, temporary shelter, airlift support, and long-term development assistance.

The United States has traditionally been the most generous of the donor governments in providing humanitarian assistance in disaster relief, and this recent display of assistance was no different. The Department of Defense and the United States Agency for International Development conducted one of the largest relief efforts in the agency's history to save lives, to lessen suffering, and to reduce the economic effect of the disaster.

The United States, which comprises roughly 25 percent of the world's economic output, provides more than 40 percent of the world's food aid. In 2004, U.S. food aid protected vulnerable populations around the world, with more than $700 million donated to the food emergencies in the Darfur region in Sudan, as well as crises in Ethiopia and southern Africa. In 2004, the United States led the world-both in timeliness and funding levels-in assisting more than one million internally-displaced persons in the Darfur region of Sudan and 200,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The 2006 Budget continues this strong level of support, addressing food and non-food needs of victims of the conflict in Darfur. The 2006 Budget supports the Administration's continuing efforts to prevent widespread famine and proposes major new efforts to make food aid more effective by requesting a portion of it as cash assistance, which allows emergency food aid to be provided more quickly and more flexibly.

In 2002, the President proposed the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) to provide new incentives for developing nations to pursue successful economic growth policies and democratic reforms. Through MCA, contributions are linked to responsible actions by developing nations. MCA rewards nations that root out corruption, respect human rights, adhere to the rule of law, invest in better health care, better schools, and broader immunization, and have more open markets and sustainable budget policies. Using funds in the MCA, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) works with eligible countries to support proposals with clear objectives to help those countries' poorest citizens lift themselves out of poverty. While the President's proposal has not received the funding initially envisioned, the Budget would keep it on track to reach $5 billion in annual funding by 2007. The Congress increased MCA funding from $1 billion in 2004 to $1.5 billion in 2005. The 2006 Budget provides $3 billion to help participating countries help themselves become prosperous democratic states. These investments aid our national security by helping nations avoid becoming havens for terrorists, who thrive in failed states. But these investments also respond to the humanitarian needs of people who have known only poverty and dependence.

The 2006 Budget also reinforces the Administration's commitment to finding durable solutions for the more than 12 million refugees worldwide in need of protection. The United States continues

offering permanent resettlement to the most vulnerable among these populations. Refugee admissions rose by more than 80 percent in 2004. The United States is the world's largest donor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the world's leader for accepting them. The 2006 Budget provides a funding increase of $85 million to support the growing number of refugees being resettled in the United States.

President Bush is committed to increasing American volunteerism overseas and, accordingly, has asked for increases over prior year's appropriations in Peace Corps' budget every year since taking office. The Administration's budget request of $345 million continues that support. Peace Corps volunteers-7,733 strong in 2004 are at their highest level in 29 years. These dedicated individuals reflect the best of American values and compassion by working in such diverse fields as education, health, information technology, business development, the environment, and agriculture. The 2006 Budget will help Peace Corps open at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers.

The 2006 Budget funds the Volunteers for Prosperity initiative, coordinated by USA Freedom Corps and USAID. This program provides America's highly skilled professionals new opportunities to serve abroad in the countries of their choice. Additionally, organizations that become Volunteers for Prosperity participants are given priority for Federal funding in select Federal development assistance programs. Since its inception, Volunteers for Prosperity has recruited nearly 200 non-profit and forprofit organizations representing a pool of 34,000 skilled American professionals from fields such as health care, business, banking, information technology, education, and public administration. These organizations have deployed nearly 7,000 volunteers to help reduce poverty and promote economic growth.

Conclusion

In all these areas-supporting the family, caring for the poor and sick, protecting the vulnerable, and upholding our values-the 2006 Budget supports the efforts of millions of people who by their actions are making a difference in the lives of their fellow Americans and others around the world. In this Budget, we have focused our resources on programs that show promise and success and have shifted away from efforts that have proven less effective. We support those programs that do more than offer good intentions. They deliver results. The programs supported in the 2006 Budget serve the purposes for which they were designed. They feed the hungry, heal the sick, and save the addicted from despair. They promote caring and compassion and bring those they serve from dependence to lives of dignity. They uphold the principle that taxpayer dollars must be spent where they can do the most good for the greatest number, and that the Federal Government should welcome the participation of faith-based and community organizations in the delivery of such services. All of our efforts succeed not by the sheer size of budgets, but by the care and talent brought to help those who once seemed beyond help.

MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFECTIVE

The Federal Government has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayers' money is spent wisely on priority needs. The 2006 Budget emphasizes the goal of achieving the results the American people expect at a reasonable cost. This effort is critical to implementing President Bush's aggressive plan to halve the deficit by 2009. Achieving this plan will require continued pro-growth economic policies and sound spending restraint. Throughout the 2006 Budget, the Administration maintains that focus. Spending restraint can take many forms. Rather than achieve fiscal discipline by cutting programs across the board, this Administration has employed a strategic approach that emphasizes results and efficiency.

To make the Federal Government more effective, the Administration is working to:

• Control spending and be a good steward of taxpayer dollars;

• Set clear goals and achieve them;

Since taking office, the President has addressed these important aspects of a more effective Government. His Budgets have dramatically reduced the growth in discretionary spending for non-security programs. This year's Budget calls for a reduction in that category of spending. With the President's Management Agenda, the Administration has made good management a priority throughout the Federal Government. The President initiated Medicare reforms, and will be proposing significant reforms of our Social Security system this year. Through sustained and dedicated effort, the Federal Government is showing that it can respond to the pressing needs of the Nation, while remaining responsible with taxpayer dollars.

ACHIEVING RESULTS

The President is committed to disciplined spending and ensuring Federal funds achieve the best results for the American people. Throughout the Budget, there are proposals to eliminate or reduce spending for programs that are not producing results, to limit long-term spending growth, and to reform programs to achieve better results.

Some examples of these budgetary proposals include:

Better high school intervention programs. To provide funding for States under a High School Intervention Initiative, the Administration proposes to consolidate narrow-purpose programs, most of which have not proven effective in improving our secondary students' academic achievement or ability to obtain a job. The President's new High School Intervention Initiative will provide $1.2 billion to help States implement a high school accountability framework and a wide range of effective interventions. In return for a commitment to improve academic achievement and graduation rates for secondary school students, States will receive the flexibility to choose which intervention strategies will be most effective in serving the needs of their at-risk high school students.