Maine’s congressional delegation found things they liked in the president’s budget – money for the Penobscot River restoration, more funds for shipbuilding and national parks. But these are small positives in a budget that includes new tax cuts, reduces assistance for children and the elderly and downplays the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president’s budget is unrealistic, and it is up to Congress to make the difficult decisions about entitlement spending, paying for the war on terrorism and health care, all the while keeping in mind the federal deficit.

When he released his 2008 budget this week, President Bush touted balancing the budget without raising taxes. His budget, however, moves in the opposite direction while also cutting funding for home heating assistance, children’s health care and environmental protection.

The largest contributor to the growing deficit have been the president’s tax cuts, which are responsible for half the $2.3 trillion added to the deficit between 2001 and 2006, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Yet, the president’s budget contains nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade, mostly by extending cuts set to expire in the next few years, while cutting domestic and entitlement spending.

“I do not agree with the president’s proposed plan for balancing the budget by dramatically reducing spending for programs tens of millions of Americans rely upon, while not addressing the revenue side of the ledger,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe, a member of the Finance Committee.

For the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the president has requested about $1.8 billion, the smallest appropriate since 1999, when heating oil cost less than $1 a gallon. Under the president’s budget, Maine would receive less than $20 million. The state received more than $45 million last year in regular and emergency funds.

The president’s budget would cut funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which already is unable to cover 6 million eligible children because of limited resources. SCHIP funding would be cut by more than $220 million, leaving Maine with a shortfall of $6.5 million.

To cut Medicare and Medicaid spending by more than $100 billion, the president would reduce payments to providers and require some seniors to pay more for medical care and prescription drug benefits.

Even when it comes to tax relief, the president’s budget includes only one year of relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, a parallel tax that was meant to ensure the wealthy weren’t avoiding paying federal income taxes but that is increasingly ensnaring middle class families. About 4 million people will fall under the AMT on their 2006 returns, according to the Treasury Department. With no relief, 25 million people will have to pay the AMT because it has not been adjusted for inflation.

The president’s budget blueprint shows that the country can’t have it all. Lawmakers will have to make difficult decisions, weighing tax cuts against funding education, child care and defense. A reasonable budget will include spending cuts and an elimination of some tax breaks to increase revenue.