President Bush will unveil a spending plan today that breaks the $3 trillion mark for fiscal year 2009, raising defense spending, freezing domestic programs, and projecting budget deficits of about $400 billion for this year and next.

The $3.1 trillion 2009 budget proposes a 7.5 percent increase in funding for the Pentagon, to $515 billion, with war costs additional. The Energy Department would gain another $21 billion for nuclear weapons programs, while $70 billion would go to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a "bridge fund" while the president considers strategy options.

The budget deficits Bush forecasts—$410 billion for the fiscal year 2008 and $407 billion for fiscal 2009, nearing 2004's all-time high of $413 billion—come largely as a result of increased defense spending and economic stimulus efforts while taxes are being cut.

Bush calls for an 11 percent increase in homeland security programs, with a 19 percent increase for border security and immigration enforcement efforts. The Food and Drug Administration would receive a $2.4 billion increase to improve food and drug safety efforts.

Bush will also begin an effort to double the size of the State Department over the next decade with a request for funds to hire 1,100 new diplomats.

As Zubin Jelveh notes on his Odd Numbers blog, "The more important issue is that — regardless of how much of the budget will be passed — with the growing national mood for change as voters turn out in record numbers, President Bush opted to stick to his guns and promote the types of initiatives that were a highlight of his presidency."

Indeed, Democrats are already attacking the proposal for freezing funding for domestic programs, which would remain at current levels, with most services being cut after inflation and population growth are factored in.

Medicare and Medicaid programs will see almost $200 billion in cuts over the next five years, freezing reimbursement rates for health-care providers for three years and cutting payments to hospitals that serve large numbers of the uninsured poor.

Health and Human Services Department funding would be $2 billion and funding for the National Institutes of Health would be frozen, while education programs would remain at $60 billion.

Also on Portfolio.com
Natural Selection: Last Days of the Anti-Science President
Economics: Predicting the Presidential Election