Some Republicans do not want to commit economic suicide
Credit where due, yo. Too bad the brain doesn't turn on until we're facing a potential crisis
Quote of Note:
Moderate Republicans say they may team up with Democrats to remove language in the budget resolution allowing the Senate to approve tax cuts worth as much as $80 billion over five years with a simple majority of 51 votes -- not the 60-vote super-majority needed to overcome a filibuster. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said there is "a good possibility" that such language will be stripped.
Senate Considers Impediment to Tax Cuts
New Rules Have Bipartisan Support and Would Make Permanent Extension Tougher
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2004; Page A04
The Senate appears ready to adopt strict new budget rules this week that would make it more difficult to permanently extend President Bush's tax cuts, a potential blow to the centerpiece of the president's election-year economic agenda.
Bush has repeatedly called on Congress to make permanent the $1.7 trillion in tax cuts approved since he came to office. Those tax cuts would expire over the next six years, with all of them disappearing by 2011. But rising voter concerns over record budget deficits have made some Republicans skeptical about Bush's request.
A bipartisan bill written by Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) would allow those cuts to be extended only if they are offset by equivalent spending cuts or other tax increases. That mandate could be overridden only by a 60-vote majority. The measure would exempt three tax cuts aimed at moderate-income households that expire this year: the expanded 10 percent income tax bracket, the $1,000-per-child tax credit and the "marriage penalty" cut.
"We're saying we want to be modest on tax cuts now, but after that, you've got to start paying for it," said Domenici, a former Senate Budget Committee chairman who has remained influential on tax-and-spending matters.
The Senate is also likely to add $7 billion to the budget's $414 billion allotment for defense spending in 2005, bringing it to the level requested by the White House.
The defense spending issue has slowed progress on the House's efforts to pass its version of the budget. House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) -- hoping to spread spending cuts throughout the federal budget -- planned to cut the president's defense request by a half a percentage point, or about $2.1 billion. But House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) has threatened to lead a revolt over the cut.
The House Budget Committee still hopes to take up its tax-and-spending plan today or tomorrow.
